Athena: My life as a goddess
by Aurora Spirit
Summary: The story about the goddess Athena (separate sequel to The Memoirs of Hera)
1. My Childhood years

**Athena - My life as a goddess**

_Author's note_

_When I finished "The memoirs of Hera" a while back I got several requests to continue, but since I felt the Hera story well finished with her marriage to Zeus I didn't want to do that. Then I decided to let another goddess be the narrator, and I settled for Athena, IMO one of the most interesting personalities of the Greek myths. So this is her story._

_And this is my own take of the Greek Myths, it's set in its own universe, quite different from the original tales, rather modernized and with some characters borrowed from other myths, like Egypt, Celtic, Norse et cetera. In this first chapter I introduce Athena and her family._

_Some character__ explanations.  
__¤ Oreynadan – I needed a spouse for Demeter, and since the myths lacked anything reasonable he's my own invention  
__¤ Minos and Dardanos are lesser sons of Zeus in the Greek myths  
__¤ Amaterasu is a Japanese sun goddess and her daughter with Zeus, Sakura is my own invention  
__¤ Auroanos is a son of Zeus existing only in a rennaicanse poem being the god of persuasion. Here I let him be a diplomatic son of Zeus and Hera  
__¤ Astraea is the goddess of stars and a lesser daughter of Zeus. No mother is mentioned in the myths and I let her become a daughter of Hera  
__¤ Irdonan - Athena's maternal older brother does not exist in the myths other than as the nameless god of virtue, son of Metis and with unknown father_

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My first memory is about daddy. I remember him playing with me, throwing me a couple of metres up in the air and catching me when I'm coming down. Several times he does this. At that time he seemed larger than life to me (to be honest, he still seems that way to a lot of people). I remember the sun shining upon him from behind - or was it his inner light - and making his blond hair and golden headband almost blinding me.

I remember laughing and I remember him smiling at me, his blue eyes full of joy and warmness. And the next moment I remember him holding me and all felt cozy and safe.

Dad was there all the time in my first memories. There were other people too - women. Demeter with her hair full of colourful pearls which I tried to pull off. Hestia who played with fire to amuse me and told me scary stories she made up. Eos could sing and was always smelling so good and beautiful Iris was also good at telling stories, although hers were more about princes and princesses than ghosts and monsters. Leto was mother to two of my older siblings and was always busy with them. But most of the time I was around dad who played with me and showed me amazing things. Or just let me sit beside him and play or draw while he was working.

There were men too, even if I sorted them out later. Oreynadan is married to Demeter. He's fun and relaxed and my first memories of him are about him always carrying around heaps and heaps of papers and folders. Things he was working on, helping dad with. He had been in the war just like dad and most of the rest of the grown-ups, but he fought on the Eastern sub-continent and he was telling other stories than dad. It wasn't until the last year of the war he had ended up with dad and his Order of Warsisters and -brothers.

Helios and Poseidon had been with dads group from the start and Astraios had not been in the war at all. He used to joke by label himself a coward when the war was mentioned. It was Astraios who taught me to play music. I wasn't that interested to start with. Not like Apollon - for him music is life, but after a while I sort of got the grip on it and found out that it was fun. But it never became my favourite interest.

Poseidon is of the sea-people. They look like us and can have children with our kind, but they are amphibian, meaning that they can breathe water as well as air. He was hardly around, it wasn't until I was four or five years old I understood that he was part of The House of Olympos too, not just some regular guest. I never saw much of Helios either during my early years. He was spending a lot of time at his sister Selene's pantheon and everyone was wondering if he was going to transfer pantheon. But I guess Olympos isn't a pantheon you leave. Not if you're interested in staying close to the Power.

I was about three when I understood that one is supposed to have a mother too. But the Titans had killed my mother just like they had killed dads and Demeter's mother and father and Helios' brother and Hestia's and Leto's whole families and a lot of other people in the war that lasted until dad killed the Titan leader, the cruel Chronos. A mother was supposed to do all those things Leto did with Apollon and Artemis and I cried quite a bit when I realised that I was different in the way of not having one. But eventually I got over it. I could always pretend that Hestia was my mother. In a way she looked like me. And I did have the best father in the world.

I guess it's because of him I never was a shy or scared child. He always encouraged me to do all the things I wanted and try what I might have thought scary, like climbing the almost vertical mountain walls at the upper parts of Mount Olympos, diving deep down in the sea, patting large animals - or always approaching strangers with a smile and open mind.  
- A smile wins over most suspicious minds, dad told me. And there's no-one out there to harm you. You're still a child, and with a big ability of putting on the charm. Use that, and there's nothing to be afraid of.

The next revelation was that father was so much more than just my dad. He's in fact ruler of all the immortals in the world. He's Zeus of Olympos and he's loved, admired, feared, worshipped, adored, envied, hated and he is looked upon for safety, help, council and support. People put all their trust in him - come to him and ask for justice, healing, advises and all kind of impossible things. Some wait for hours just to get a glimpse of him and others get scared and run for cover when he comes around. I soon realised that being Divine King isn't an easy task, even for a man like dad. Even if he has all those people helping him out, I sometimes hear him complain that it was all too much and that if he could do it all over again he wouldn't have reached for such a large amount of power.

But most of the time he likes his job. He likes being trusted and sought for and he loves being admired and regarded as a glorious state-man and all-father. He cares about his followers and worshippers, giving them reason to put their trust in him. On top of that he always seeks to find opportunity for quality time with his family. He has also got used to the fact that he's not everybody's choice of ruler.

The Union is dads creation. The Union - the powerful commonwealth which these days covers almost half the world and spans over three continents - was created by dad and his Order friends during the years after the defeat of Chronos. It has become so strong and great because it thrives on prosperity and diversity and is very liberal and forgiving. And because it's a working democracy - with dads rule as a balancing power, protecting it from the worst failures. This creation of the Union is also an ongoing, almost organic process. According to dad a project like the Union is never finished, because there's always improvements that can be made and developments that this commonwealth can benefit from.

That's why my dad is working all the time. If it isn't about the day-to-day work demanded of the Divine King there's new things being applied to the ruling, like changes in the constitution and other legislations, negotiations, budget work and official reports. And even if he has dozen and dozen of helpers he's the ultimate one who takes all the responsibility and has to deal with the things that go really wrong.

Dad is also pantheon head of The House of Olympos. And that's some extended family! It was created in the Union foundation days as the leftovers of the old warrior Order dad had lead against the Titans. Most of the Order members had scattered like autumn leaves in the wind when there was no mutual enemy tying them together. Only dads best friends had remained. Out of these comrades family ties were formed, like when Demeter married Oreynadan or when Zeus and Leto had children. Then - as the decades passed by - the House of Olympos became more and more about all of us sisters and brothers who are the Children of Zeus.

I started off with four older siblings. One sister - Artemis, and three brothers - Apollon, Irdonan and Dardanos. The sturdy, redheaded Irdonan is my mothers son. The rest of them are dads children. Dardanos is living with his mother in Troy and I never saw that much of him during my childhood and even lesser later. He has his responsibilities as guardian of Troy which he takes very seriously.

Apollon and Artemis are twins and children of Leto. Apollon is blond like dad, and more slender built which makes him look taller than my broad shouldered, heavy-muscled dad, which he in fact is not. And Artemis is dark and with olive complexion, but as blue-eyed as her brother. Apparently dad and Leto never were a couple in a real sense. Leto just wanted children and found out that a one night stand with dad was an easy way to get them.

Originally Leto had planned to go away and restart her old pantheon with her twins, but dad insisted on her staying and letting him share the responsibility for Apollon and Artemis. So Leto remained with dad instead and helped him found what was going to be the Olympos pantheon. That's why Leto has hardly had any problems with the comings and goings of later lovers of dad; like Hera, Mnemosyne, Amaterasu and my mother Metis.

Minos is six years younger than I. He was the result of some kind of a set up. This woman - Europa - wanted to climb the ladder of society and she used dad as a stepping stone. (Serves him right by the way - he thought he was the one using her, for pleasure.) Europa made sure she got pregnant, and the result was Minos. This dark-blond man with freckles all over him might not be the brightest brother I have, but he has got a long way on his rowdy charm and no-nonsense attitude. And he's always ready for a good time. A good result of a set up I guess. But just as Dardanos he doesn't live at the Olympos. Instead he lives at Crete, where he is some sort of governor deity.

Sakura, one year younger than Minos, is the daughter of Amaterasu, a Hyperpantheon delegate who had a brief relationship with dad the year before he got together with Hera. Since Amaterasu lives and works in Ekarantanni Sakura came to spend more and more time at the Olympos, and in the end she decided to move in with us. She's cute and funny and good at jokes that are not exactly meant for children's ears. And I've always envied her her hair. Jet-black, shining and straight as a horses tail. Not like the blond disaster area I've inherited from dad.

Sakura has the same electro-magnetic powers as I do, another heritage of dad. So as a kind of initiation when she moved up home, we made this practical joke with all the kitchen stuff. Apollon and Artemis gathered all the iron they could find, from tiny spoons to large pots, Sakura and I turned them magnetic and then we collected it all in a bundle on the kitchen floor.

Meanwhile we placed Ares as a guard, to check out that no adult was coming, a duty he took very seriously. Little Auroanos was around too, but he was mostly getting in the way.

The kitchen-nymphs were in tears when they found out that they couldn't separate the utensils because of the magnetic force, and they all ran to dad for help. He, of course, had no problem neither with turning off the magnetic nor with finding the ones behind the deed. He had more problem though with trying to appear stern and lecturing when confronting us, the twinkle in his eyes and the ticks around his lips gave him away.

These days I have so many brothers and sisters that I have lost count and have to keep a file of them and letting my secretary buy birthday gifts and so-on. There have been mortal sisters and brothers during the years that I only saw maybe once or twice during their entire lifetime. That's what happens when you have a dad who can hardly look at a beautiful woman without wanting to take her to bed. And usually succeeding in those ventures too.

Falling in love is for Zeus an entirely different story. I know that a lot of people doubt dads ability to really love and care for a woman. But I know he does. I've seen him when he has been on the brink of losing the love of his life. His soul just an open wound. Then he stops for nothing until he gets her back with him again. And she - is Hera.

When I was nine daddy married Hera, who had entered my life about two years earlier. I remember the first time I met her. It was at Hestia's birthday lunch and at that moment Hera was just Hestia's best friend or something. And she was absolutely oozing cool - from that long, pinned up blue hair adorned with pearls and down through classy make up and expensive clothes to her golden sandals. All blue, green and golden she seemed so strong and brave - just like a fancy version of the warrior queen daddy had described her as. There was also something more - a great sadness deep down in her large, brown eyes. Maybe it had something to do with her being a part of the Olympos family long ago but leaving when she became mad at dad over something.

But dad had made her coming back. He wanted her to lose this sadness in her eyes and in the venture he fell in love with her. So eventually Hera returned to our pantheon and moved in at our mountain top.

Mountain top, yes. The House of Olympos is residing on top of a 1000 metres high mountain which has given its name to the pantheon. The mountain is sort of cone-shaped with flack foot-hills but getting steeper and steeper the higher you get. That's why only immortals have access to the top. Dad is firm about that rule being upheld. Olympos is our private home. If mortals would began to be let in we would never be left alone. There are enough sites where gods and mortals can meet anyway. Like the Union Nexus or the various temples.

On the top of Mount Olympos there's an area of about 500 acres. It's elliptic and slightly bulging with the main building in the south-west surrounded by our private houses and elegant gardens, like the _Rose-Garden_ the _Nippon-Garden_ the _Dryad's Garden_ (a fancy version of a forest if you ask me) and the _Cretan Garden_. Then there's open fields, rocky hills, the tiny spring _Little sparkle_ and two lakes, one "styled" - _The Silver Coin_ and one more natural, _The Blue Heart_ with a sandy beach. Then there's a cave with a hot spring where you can bath all winter long. The lakes are connected to each other and the spring through an intricate net of canals, ponds and waterfalls, and I lost count on how many times I fell in the water here or there during my early years.

The main building is the largest one at Olympos, filled with public areas like living rooms, dining rooms, lounges, music-rooms, party halls, a library, rooms for business meetings, an indoor swimming pool, a large winter garden, dads reception hall, you name it! It's this built around an inner courtyard where you can sit outdoors way into Autumn Month because the high walls protect it from the cold winds of winter season. Then there are some guest-houses and other buildings. I lived in dads airy house until I was 16, then I got my own little home.

Beneath the inhabited top are some big cavities: _The Dungeons,_ some of them with hot springs and one of them even with a large lake in. When I was 8 Apollon tried to scare me and told me that a huge serpent-monster lived in that lake. This led me to jump in because I wanted to see the monster, and I dived and dived and no-one knew where I was. That was one of the few times dad was mad at me. Not so much for diving, but for not telling anyone what I was doing, why I disappeared. He was more angry with Apollon though.

When I was about the same age dad told me all about my mother – Metis. She had been dads second wife, and quite a bit older than him. (The first one had been a woman named Themis, whom dad divorced.) My mother died at an age of 316, and when I was still a baby. During the short five years she had known dad she taught him the lion's share of her extensive and ancient knowledge.

Now dad passed it on to me. There were knowledge about the dimensions beyond, where the death went, about the spiritual dimensions and about the speed of light – the upper level of speed in the 3:rd dimensional universe and about something dad called "the theory about relativity", a thing he said he didn't really understand. And he had learned old information about the energy lines in the Earth, as well as the corresponding ones in the human body. Information that could be used to cure as well as harm both the planet and humans. Dad taught me about the interlinking of human souls and about the energies that made the chakras spin. About yin and yang and the importance of balance.

- Nature needs balance, this is what Metis taught me, dad told. If there's no balance, things will break apart sooner or later. That's why I have deployed balance into the rule of the Union. The Nexus is balanced between mortals and immortals, between north and south, east and west, between rural and urban areas and between large and small provinces. On top of that my ruling balances the Nexus.  
- Sounds wise.  
- Yes it is. It's Metis' knowledge. Old knowledge that has proven the test of time.

Dad also told me about the oldest immortal Homo Sapiens. The first immortals of our kind had been born some 2800 years before our time, when the era of Chronos was still a young one. Dad told about their struggle for power and the founding of the first Aristocratic Houses: The Santori, The Denakiari, The Thanaderia, The Achaia, The Ayonia and The Warinikia. One of these elders was Phanes, a man who lived until as late as 26 years before the Union Foundation. Then the Chronites had killed him together with his wife and a large amount of his offspring. Phanes had been the founder of The House of Warinikia, Metis' pantheon.

What dad taught me was knowledge and wisdom that had been held by The house of Warinikia for centuries. Knowledge dad considered really belonging to me, since I, together with Irdonan, were among the last Warinikians. Irdonan's father had been a man named Thalotes. Another of these old, aristocratic immortals. A man who had fought side by side with dad and who died by the hand of some stray Titans during the first years of the Union.

I had a couple of friends from other places than Olympos. Mostly children of friends to the grown-ups. And most of them I "grew out of" when I got older. The only exception is Nike - my soul-mate. We sort of found each other immediately, we wanted the same thing, we had the same opinions about most things and we had the same strives. And this has lasted up until today. We can talk about everything and I trust her more than most of my sisters and brothers.

Hera gave birth to Ares when I was ten years old, and two years later came Auroanos. Both of them dark-haired and with big, brown eyes like Hera but with Dads spirit, temper and restless energy. But while Ares gets into trouble and fights all the time Auroanos has the gift of words. He has become the one who usually ends up straightening out most of the quarrels among us - as well as among other groupings in the Union. Thus he was made into the god of diplomacy and negotiations.

My early teens were very much about trying to know myself. Who was this blond, blue-eyed and tanned girl who looked back at me in the full-body mirror in my dressing room? And why did I - over days it seemed - go from angular and boyish-looking to a tall girl with a front-zone that drew attraction from young gods who had never seen me before? And why did I just want them to go away? Yes - because all of them wanted to talk about stupid things. I was not interested in their opinion about my eyes, I wanted to know if they liked swimming with dolphins, diving into rain clouds or if they wanted to play square-board. (They almost never did, probably because I won over them.)

I tried to figure out why and how girls had to be different from boys (Spying a lot on Artemis, Hera, Eos and the likes) and I tried to master all kind of different subjects. I've always wanted to be the best in everything from maths and astronomy over athletic subjects to painting and singing. I soon realised that singing wasn't my thing and I was so-so at writing poetry. But I had a good memory and was gifted for abstract thinking. Maths was a piece of cake and I was good at handicraft and in the technical area. Economics was also a bit of a walk in the park. And philosophy - well I always won the arguments, but I never really knew if I actually had been right or not.

In the athletic area I liked fencing and martial arts a lot, but back then it was just a game. I had no idea that it would be getting real once. I also liked catch-ball and duck'n'chase, because I was good at manoeuvring in the sky, but the finer gymnastics bored me.

I spent a lot of these years talking to Artemis and Eos, both of them being some kind of mentors into womanhood for me. They were very different though. Artemis and I talked career - she wanted to be in politics, and Eos and I talked boys. She seemed like she always was in love, and she told me how to get hold of a boy. It wasn't really that hard as soon as you got the hang of it. It was harder to get rid of them.

Later on Hera was added to the mentor crew. I wanted to know all the little tricks you could do with your hair and with make-up to appear more beautiful or sexy or regal or whatever you wanted to look like. And she told me what colours to stay away from - green and earth hues a no-no, while I should go for primary colours like red, purple and blue. Hera was usually very busy, being the Chair Lady of the Nexus back then, but she always took her time with family matters.

Then I paid everything forward by teaching younger sisters both what I had been learned by others and what I had found out by experimenting myself. Like "if you really want a boy, don't beat him at anything, especially not at athletic subjects". (On the other hand Sakura started her relationship with Irdonan by throwing him to the mat in the pan-do ring).

Among the best part of those years were our "all-girls-nights" sittings in Hestia's cozy living room by her sparkling fire and talking. Besides Hestia there were usually Eos, Iris, Artemis and I and sometimes Hera and Leto were around too. And, maybe once or twice, Demeter. Iris was always the one who brought new and fresh gossip and jokes, Eos had love troubles and Artemis told anecdotes from the political arena. And whenever anyone had a problem Hestia was there to listen and offer advises. She is like the super mother to all of us.

Hestia's house is small, probably because she lives alone. Back then it was located a bit off, she has a huge need for solitude and privacy. And her home is not as airy as the rest of the houses. Hestia prefers carpets, draperies, warm colours and big, soft furnitures as well as brass vases with potted plants and large iron chandeliers where candles are as common as electric bulbs - and more often used. Easy for her with her accurate pyrotechnical power. She can light tenfolds of candles in a couple of seconds.

Dad and Hera's daughter Astraea was born on my fifteenth year. She was absolutely wild. You never knew what she was going to do next time. And I got to baby-sit her a quite bit, which meant running around trying to catch her. Maybe dad gave me that duty because I was the same as a small child and everybody had to run after me.

Then I reached sixteen, and was considered a grown up. That was weird. I had expected it to feel different, but it did not.

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__This become quite a feel-good start, but I promise more __drama and action as the story moves on. _


	2. Maturity Age

**Maturity Age**

_Author's note__ about some of the characters and places  
__¤ Nike's big brother Nardalon does not exist in the myths, he's my own invention  
¤ Aeolus is the keeper of the winds, and he appears in the Odyssey. But here he's still a youngster  
¤ Philotes is the god of friendship. So I made him into a friend of among others Apollo.  
¤ Several places including the capital Ekarantanni at the foothills of Olympos are my own inventions. That will be the case throughout the whole of my story_

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Birthdays, especially significant ones - like maturity age and when you turn decade, century and the likes - have always meant party at Olympos. And me turning 16 was no exception, on the contrary. Dad has always believed in working hard and partying hard. He thinks that if you don't party for real you have no energy or urge to work for real. And good parties always bring people together and strengthen communities, families and pantheons.

I was celebrated with a reception for friends and acquaintances at daytime, and then with the pantheon in the evening. The afternoon reception was more a "duty thing" with people participating who might be useful for me and the pantheon in the future. The evening held the real party, with dinner and entertainment and my real friends around me. And as usual with birthdays they turned people in epic mode. It was not so much about earlier braveries of mine, I was after all just 16. But more cute stories about tricks I had done, which I found embarrassing and the others loved.

I was listening with half an ear to Demeter's story about my birth:  
- Your mother had a slender waist and tight hips, and you were a big baby, so she had to use real strength to force you out. She was standing, holding on to your dad when she lost her balance and tipped over him. And Zeus fell, hitting his head against the locker with baby-stuff and was cursing and yelling while you entered the world. Metis went silent - surprised when Zeus went on like he had given birth himself. Through his head! That was...  
- Oh, gimme a break, Dee! It's not like I haven't heard this story before. Every birthday since I can't remember when, to be honest. I know the rest "Then dad saw you and forgot that he just behaved like he was dying, 'coz you were a little warrior and yadayadayada!".

Demeter looked a bit hurt but Artemis filled in:  
- It's the same with us. About mothers political campaign and giving birth to me on one island and Apollon on the next. We know these stories now.  
- Oh, you will have kids on your own and then you'll be just the same, telling everyone...  
- No, I won't, said Artemis.  
- Have kids or telling their birth story all the time, Mimi? I asked.  
- Well... I guess... I dunno. I'm not sure I want to have children. It sounds like such a fuzz. And then there's the boy thing... Boys are so complicated! If there was a way to do it without boys I'd gladly go for it.

Demeter was laughing but I could tell that my sister was serious. She had no good experiences in that field it seemed, and she was cringing every time someone mentioned that she and Irdonan would be a perfect match. Even if it was meant as a joke.

- So what do you intend to do with your life, Athena, now that you are a grown-up? Poseidon was asking, grabbing my arm as I was walking over to sit by Nike, Irdonan and Aeirene a bit away. I shook him off, glared at him. For some reason Poseidon was more and more starting to make me feel uncomfortable.  
- I haven't made up my mind about that yet, I said.  
- Politics? Does that not tempt you?  
- Perhaps.  
- I could show you...

- Later, I said, dashed out of his reach. Why was he so impertinent? The sea-god let up his voice, calling at his Warbrother:  
- Zeus, why haven't you taught your daughter how to behave? Hera answered instead of her husband:  
- Oh, stuff it, Seidy! It's not like you are the most chivalrous gentleman around this table. Less alcohol should help in your case!

Artemis and Apollo caught up with me when I passed the children's table. There Sakura was just hitting an half-empty plate in the head of Ares. Probably because he had yanked at her pigtails or something. Nothing new in other words.

While they started to argue the three of us sat down at the youngster's table and we gathered around a large piece of my birthday cake. It was my favourite, white chocolate and cloudberries. We stuffed ourselves while watching the entertainment start. Nike's big brother Nardalon was getting drunk for the first time in his life, with the kind help of Irdonan and Apollon and their friends Philotes and Aeolus. Aeolus asked me the same question as Poseidon earlier had. And I was more inclined to answer the 24 year old than bothering with my fathers manner-less friend.  
- I want to build societies. Found cities at strong points in the world. Not where there are mines and good harbours but where the lines of power intersect.  
- What lines of power? Aeolus wanted to know.

- Earthpower. Powerlines in the ground of the Earth. Lines caused by the Earth rotation in connection with the heated iron core inside of the planet and 5:th dimensional quantum fluids. These lines affect the human souls and chakras as well as nature and energies like electricity and magnetic power. Towns build on such intersections are going to be strong and healthy, and so will their populations. I want to search and find such points and there I want to found towns.

- But how are you going to convince people to settle at these points? Aeolus asked.  
- By settlers loans. Money from the Union budget is still being used to make nomadic people settle and thus being more fit for the expansion of civilisation. Dad founded two towns only this year. Sparta in Garanaro and Aroandaron in the Mycenae province.  
- You'll have to convince the Nexus that these locations you choose are good ones then, Artemis said. Sparta is being build around copper mines and Aroandaron at a deep harbour.

- I will, trust me! I assured my older sister. She looked almost challenging at me, and that made me even more eager to pull through my plans. Some places, like Giradion, seemed to be less fortunate for the settlers in spite of a great surrounding with fertile lands and being built where two rivers forged into one. Other seemed to blossom even if they weren't located on such fortunate places. Like Delphi among the mountains in the middle of nowhere, with just a railway junction as an excuse for a town.

Just out of pure interest had I searched for energy lines in the earth and found that Delphi lies at a place where not only three railroads were crossing each other, but also three power lines. Giradion on the other hand is far from any of those lines. Some more research showed that most of the railways and highways seemed to run more or less alongside these energy lines. Was that a coincidence or was it something that made humans chosing to travel along these lines? I believed the latter. I believed that travelling along powerlines provided greater endurance, something that was even more important in those days when there were no trains or cars or other engine vehicles, and you had to rely on horses or even your feet.

Not surprisingly Ekarantanni and other large cities like Argos, Thebe and Arkagonara are also situated on those great crosses of powerlines. Ekarantanni for instance lies right upon a star-like cross of no less than four powerlines, one of them running right through Mount Olympos. And Troy had been built upon two separate crosses. Now I only had to find a few more crosses like that, crosses without larger habitations, select one of these and then have a try at founding a town.

Already the day after turning 16 I spoke with dad about this idea of mine. He was interested and promised to help me with settler loans if I could find such an energy cross and then prove that this location was a good one for founding a new town.  
- But don't rush it, Athena, dad said. You have all the time in the world. Select your place with care and do also work hard on coming up with reasons for why people should settle there! Starting a society, even a minor one, is nothing you do on a Firstday. It must take time and be done organic. Otherwise it will be a failure like Giradion or Netka.

- But in Netka's case it was an earthquake. How could anyone have known...  
- There are immortals with the ability to trace places with high seismic activity and sensing coming earthquakes. Like Poseidon. We were warned, the problem was that no-one listened. People were more interested in the great climate and the long beaches. They wanted to build a resort. They didn't care that high seismic activity is one of the best ways to scare off tourists.

- So I'm not picking an earthquake-ridden place. What more advises can you give me?  
- Find these crosses, Athena. Start to sketch upon your dream! Then come talk to me before taking the next step! I'll help you having it through the Nexus. And talk to Hera too! The Chair Lady's support is also a good advantage. The case with Sparta shows that. Hera approved upon Sparta while she was less found of the Aroandaron project. And anyone can tell which one was the greater success.  
- Sparta, I smiled.  
- One more things, get supporters! Have friends like Nike and Aeirene and some sisters and brothers helping you. I believe it could be a good training for Sakura in a couple of years too.

- A couple of years? Dad, I...  
- Athena, you're smart and gifted but you're still a youth. Take it easy and start slowly. Do it properly. This venture of yours will take years and years. If the first settlers arrive in the year 32 - when you are 24, I'd consider it fast. The Sparta project started 14 years ago, when Cheiron found that there was copper in the ground. Then it took 5 years before there was even an embryo of a mine. And - as you know - the settlement that was named Sparta finally got its town privileges this year. Earlier it was just a part of Auranixa.

Eight years felt like an eternity, but dad was proved more than right. My settlement - with the working name of Alfapolis - lived solely on the drawing board for more than 12 years. First I had to find those power crosses. I spent months tracing the powerlines leaping out from Ekarantanni and spotting more or less strong intersections. I ended up with a dozen promising places, and out of these four were out of question directly, being located in rough mountainous surroundings or too far away from reasonable communications.

I narrowed the possible places down to five, and then I kept four in my mind for later projects and settled for a desolate coastal area in southern Attica. The surroundings looked good and felt good, the only problem was that the populated areas of Attica were located on the northern coast with its large areas of fertile ground. So how to get people down to the south?

Then there was one more problem. A big one. There were no more settler's money in the long-term budgeting. So I had to let my project take an organic develop.


	3. The Help Patrol

**The Help Patrol**

_Author's note__ about some of the characters  
__¤ Learelia and Azirakon are my own inventions  
__¤ Iapetus and Clymene are really old titans of minor significance.  
__¤ In the myths several mothers of Nike, goddess of victory, are mentioned, among others Styx and Hera. But here she's Narlidda, my own invention._

* * *

Nike and I had started working for the deities Learelia and her son Azirakon, helping them with their society projects at the outskirts of Thessalia- Ekarantanni and in the neighbouring provinces Elesios and Angresidor. The two of us started off feeling mostly like apprentices, but soon we were doing real job in Learelia and Azirakon's Help-Patrol. Real tedious jobs, like healing, crime prevention, stopping accidents and so on. There were so many mortals always getting in trouble and so few of us to help them. And usually Nike and I were so tired that we skipped all the social life and only worked, slept and ate. Until Hera of all people told us to stop.

- Athena, Nike, you are wearing yourself to rags, Hera was saying. You can't help all the people all the time. You must stop and think about yourself for a while. How you two shall manage if things get too much. I know, I've been there, done that.

We were sitting in the sun at the inner courtyard of the main building at Olympos, trying to catch the last warm days before Autumn Month. The trees carried all the autumn colours and most of the flowers had done their work for the year and were gone. Only some late roses were blooming. We were drinking cocoa with rum and eating apple pie. I had invited up Nike, Learelia and Azirakon. Irdonan and Aeolus were there too. And Hera, who for once was not working or being with dad or her young children. Instead she worried about Nike and me in an almost Hestia-like way.  
- When did you do these things? Nike asked Hera.

- When I was in my late 20:ies and lived in Xanetakar in Argos. There was this absolutely insane god there and he and I were fighting over the mortals. I tried to prove myself worthy and better than him, meaning that I didn't do anything else than toiling the way you two are doing now. In the end it didn't pay off as much as I thought it would. Leaving the mortals alone and let them cope with their problems is more the way to do it. Usually their problems are self-inflicted. You can do a better work if you start thinking in larger perspectives instead. As I came to understand being about 34.  
- We should stay out of the mortals lives, Aeolus was saying.  
- But they're asking for us to help them, Learelia answered.  
- Help them, help them, like they ain't grown-up themselves who can take care of their own lives.  
- Aeolus, we're talking people with a life span of about 80 years here. What can you possibly acquire in such a short life? I'm twice as old and I feel far from fully educated in life's twists yet.

- So what shall we do? I asked. I mean Nike and I? We both want to make a difference, but we can't do that without helping people, showing them that we're reliable goddesses.  
- What are you two good at? Hera returned. What do you really want to do?  
- I guess... I started. If I really could choose, I'd build that town of mine. It has come to a halt because of no money. I'd love to work with technologic stuff too. I want to work in engineering.  
- Then you should do that instead of putting out wood fires, Athena, Hera said. And you, Nike?

- Hey, Hera! Learelia interrupted. Don't take away my co-workers here!  
- Leri, they are only teens. They need to engage in things they think are fun and inspiring, or else they're going to be burned out and not able to acquire anything sensible as deities at all. I've seen it happen.  
- But I need their help.  
- That's because you've got used to it. Maybe you too should scale down your engagements slightly and start to enjoy life a bit more. And let the teenagers be teenagers and sample experiences from more areas of life than just miscellaneous deity work.

- Look who's talking, my brother smiled. Chair Lady Hera who's hardly at home.  
- I know, Irdonan, Hera answered. But I'm not going to stay forever in the Office. A few decades more. Then I guess I will spend more time helping Zeus. Already now I can tell that this expanding Union is going to need a larger Divine King's Office. And Zeus can hardly do more than he does today.  
- Miscellaneous deity work, Learelia snorted. Stop degrading...  
- It's not about degrading anything, Learelia, Hera said. But I can tell that Athena and Nike aren't well. They push themselves too hard. And it's not your or Azi's fault. These girls are ambitious and a bit too young to know where to stop. And I'm worried about my co-pantheonite and her friend.

- You're not even of the Olympos, Hera, Learelia started but Hera cut her off:  
- That's only a technicality having to do with the fact that reality doesn't always fit the politicians dream of an independent Chair Office. I'm married to Zeus, that's the reason for me being here. Officially I'm still of the Argos Pantheon. And because Athena has no mother to worry about her and her father is just as ambitious as she is and thus not really sees the problem, I have to follow my heart in this. Now, are you going to fuzz more about Athena and Nike having to go? You know, they may come back later if they feel that your Help-Patrol is what they really want to do with their lives.

Learelia did not answer, and I felt uncomfortable. I had been working for Lea for almost three years and I liked her and didn't want to let her down. On the other hand I knew that my stepmother was right. I was sick of "Miscellaneous deity work" as Hera had labelled it. And I could tell that Nike felt the same too. Probably even more than I. Nike was mindspeaking her awkwardness to me and I tried to reassure her. She had been pushing herself almost to the limit the last few months, and also having an argument with her mother about the very same thing Hera was seeing happening.

But while Nike's mother Narlidda had mostly nagged my friend about it, Hera had put the problem up front when both Nike, I and our employers were present. Now Learelia and Azirakon had to deal with Hera's words first hand instead of getting them from me and Nike. Thus they couldn't just pat us on our heads and say that we were doing fine and everything was going to be all right and "so-so, go out and do your work now!". Eventually first Azirakon and then Learelia agreed upon giving Nike and me an open ending break so we could try out other areas to work in.

- Now you're looking at an unemployed goddess, Nike said and giggled. So now what, Athena?  
- I want to do engineering as I said. Then I believe dad can find something. For both of us.  
- No more catching mortal rapists at least, I hope.  
- No, just tell what you want to do!  
- I guess... Nike looked down at her hands. Can you get me into the Divine King's Office? As a trainee or something? I really like your dad and I want to learn more about what he's doing. Not so much the politics stuff, but more the legislation works and the planning of it all.  
- I'll see what I can do.

- Great! Nike hugged me. Hera was actually right. I was sick of working for Azirakon and Learelia, but I didn't want to tell anybody. I thought this was what I was supposed to do. That this was what being a goddess was all about.  
- It's not! There are millions of opportunities out there. Now, let's celebrate! There's still apple pie left. We can take it and some Sparklewine to the hot spring and have a cosy afternoon without boys and oldies.  
- Oh, boys! I want to gossip about boys, Nike smiled. You've been having my brother Nardalon recently?  
- True...  
- Your first one?  
- Second. Aeolus was the first. How about you? Apollon, right?  
- Close. Your other bro' in fact. Irdo.

¤-¤-¤

I talked to Hera that night, thanked her for rescuing me from the Help-Patrol gods.  
- I saw the problem, she said frankly. And I decided to deal with it as soon as I saw the four of you together. On top of that, young Aeolus was right.  
- About what?  
- About staying out of the mortals lives. About not poking into details. Which is exactly what Azirakon and Learelia do. I know that they mean well, but they don't see that they are actually doing more harm then help, turning the mortals into helpless babies depending on deities for their everyday problems. They should be able to put out their fires, catch their criminals and cure their deceased themselves. While we immortals should worry about life's larger developments.

- But I can't help feeling guilty. Like I let them down.  
- Don't! You did not! You're 19, Athena. You have big things coming for you. You just have to look out for the signs and grab the opportunities.  
- I... How can I see them?  
- I can help you, Athi. Show you a couple of things I think you might find useful.

Then Hera poured me some nectar and took me on a quick trip through her life, spoken word as well as telepathic motion pictures. She told me how she had found opportunities first in Argos and then later in the Union Nexus. Reaching the Chair Office after just one year in the Hyperpantheon was one of these. It was not so much about hard work as about being in the right place at the right time. About having the right helpers and keeping the mind cold.

- The only thing I wasn't really that good at was patching my love life together. Eventually it seemed like the whole world was pushing me in the arms of Zeus while I was holding back, too scared to let go.  
- But it all worked out in the end. Between you and dad, I mean.  
- Yes. But sometimes you have to be lucky too.  
- I'm not good at being lucky, I answered. I'm better at screwing up to be honest.  
- We all think we are, because it's so easy to forget when all was flowing fine the last time. Probably because we're taking it for granted.

This discussion of Hera and mine turned out to be the first one in an endless row of long talks I began to have with dads wife. Hera and I were more alike each other than we first wanted to admit. We needed each other very much too. We were both very close to Zeus, probably his most beloved kins, and we were both affected by his large plans and big dreams. As well as his great need for affection, his infamous temper and heavy mood swings.

Dad had lost so many loved ones during his youth, starting with his mother when he was just ten, so those he had now he clung to for dear life. Thus Hera and I weren't only the same kind of persons to start with, Zeus sort of formed us into mirror images of each other. Without anyone of us - not even Zeus - really aware of it.

I also talked a lot with Irdonan. Mostly about my lost mother. She felt like a part of my identity that was missing and which I needed to regain to feel whole and complete.  
- How was she, Irdo? I'm trying to picture her, but I only keep seeing Hera with the face from the painting my dad keeps. That auburn hair and smiling gray eyes.  
- She was different from Hera in many ways, Irdo said. She wasn't as solemn as Hera, she was more playful, more found of jokes and tricks. She and Zeus used to chase each other in the sky, and Zeus used to catch her, teasing her that he would eat her alive. She joked back and said that he would get really sick, because she was toxic.

- Can't imagine Hera saying such a thing.  
- No. She was also very curious in a way that resembles you. She wanted to learn everything, to know everything. She was always carrying around books and magazines she was reading from when she got some spare minutes. I see her in your curiosity, Athi.  
- She must have been very wise.  
- She was. She was also a good teacher, both to Zeus, me and Mimi and Ollie. And everyone else who wanted to learn. You would have loved her, Athi. As she loved you the short time you two got.

I felt my eyes burn with tears to these words of my brother.  
- Irdo, I miss her so much. Even though I never knew her, I miss her. Did she and Zeus... love each other?  
- Yes they did. They loved each other very much. But Zeus loved her in a different way than he loves Hera. Metis was more of a teacher and a mother-figure to Zeus. A kind of mentor. She was after all almost 300 years older than him. Hera is more of an equal.

¤-¤-¤

I talked with dad both about the wish Nike had to work in the Divine King's Office and about the event caused by me and Nike leaving the Help-Patrol.  
- I'll sure give Nike a chanse, dad said. She's talented, but I didn't know she was interested in politics.  
- I guess she's just curious. Want to try out different things. And your Office is interesting. But what am I going to do with Learelia and Azirakon? They have become really hostile since Nike and I quit the Help-Patrol. Learelia've been hinting that we went whining to Hera instead of talking to her about feeling overworked, refusing to give her a chance to correct that.  
- Is it so then? asked dad.  
- How do you mean?  
- Did you and Nike not talk to Learelia before Hera intervened?  
- The truth is - no, we didn't.

Then dad talked to Hera who didn't back an inch from her position:  
- Of course your daughter didn't say anything to Learelia. She's only 19, she didn't see it coming.  
- She didn't see what coming?  
- Oh Zeus, the overworked thing of course. She's just like you. So full of ambition, so eager to always do her best and to excel. And unwilling to show weakness. Why should she say anything to Learelia? And Nike, Athena's shadow, why should she had said anything?

- She's not my shadow, I interrupted. She's my best friend!  
- Athena, dad said, Hera did the right thing. She saw the problems the two of you were facing before anyone else did. You're not a Help-Patrol goddess, daughter. You're meant for larger things. Now, leave this behind you!  
- But Learelia has turned real bad against me. Not against Hera, she probably don't dare, but against Nike and me.

-That's not your problem. Dad crossed his strong arms over his wide chest and went on: That's Learelia's problem. If she's messing with you she's messing with me. And I don't think she can handle that.  
- Dad, I don't need your help against Learelia.  
- What's the problem then?  
- I don't want her as an enemy, that's all.

- Powerful people do always acquire enemies, Athena, dad told me. There are people out there who hate me and my agendas and want to get rid of me. It used to anger and sadden me earlier, but these days I've become used to it. You can't be everybody's friend if you want to make a difference for real. You have to do what you believe in no matter what petty people think. Stand up for your ideas and be proud of them and rejoice in the followers you do get. My followers are plenty more than my adversaries, especially among people in my closest surroundings. I take that as a proof that I keep doing the right things.

- But those who hate and fear you - who are they?  
- It's mostly people who want more power for themselves, regardless of deserving it or not. Sometimes they want to use that power to launch other ideas than mine but more often they want it just to get hold of the glory. Most of them are gathered in other parts of the world. They don't know me or my ideologies. Or they don't bother with understanding them. As long as they serve no threat to my realm I chose to disregard them as much as possibly. I will never get rid of that kind of people, so why should I let them cloud my mind?

- But if you win them over?  
- There will be others.  
- Zeus, stop it, Hera said.  
- Stop what?  
- Moving over focus to yourself. This is Athena's problem, not yours! Learelia is hostile against her not against you.

- I'm only trying to explain to Titi that she shouldn't worry about Learelia, she's only...  
- I'm not worried, I'm...  
- ...a minor goddess who does her best in her little world.  
- ...not keen on having her as enemy, regardless of her status among deities.  
- Don't let her bother you!  
- Daaad!  
- No one would have thanked you or Nike anyway if you had worked yourself to pieces in the Help-Patrol.

We went on like that a bit more, and I let off some anger both at Dad and at Hera, but in the end I saw that dad was right - in a way. Hera had gotten me and Nike out from the Help-Patrol, and thus turned Learelia against us, but it was either that or Nike and me being worn out in an area that dad called low-status.

- I'll get Nike in at my office, and... are you sure that you don't want to do the same, Titi?  
- I am.  
- Or at Hera's office, can you take her in, honey?  
- I'd love to have her aboard, Hera started but I told them that I was not inclined to politics at all.  
- I want more hard results out of my work. I'm going to take some time off, studying my mothers knowledge. Then I hope Iapetus and Clymene can take me in as an apprentice so I can learn about engineering and producing energy.

- I'll talk to Iapetus, dad started but I cut him off:  
- I'll talk to him myself. I'm going to do this on my own. I'm not going anywhere because Zeus laid the ground.  
- Good luck, Athena, Hera said. And if there's anything...  
- I know. I'll ask. Thanks.

Zeus didn't say anything to old Iapetus, but I got a chance to study under him anyhow. I'm not sure if it was because of me as a person or me as a daughter of Zeus, but I decided to not care. It was exciting to learn about physics and power-stations, and I spent the next handful of years learning to master these subjects. In return Iapetus and Clymene got better turbines, conductors and fuse stations. I also invented the transistor, something that was going to give the world smaller radios and computers as well as being a precursor of the micro-ship, another invention of mine that still was years in the future. On top of that I dusted off an old dream of mine - electric trains.


	4. Crazy Olympos

**Crazy ****Olympos**

_Author's note__ about some of the characters  
__¤ Aphrodite's parentage is said to be either Zeus or Oceanos – the sea. I let the father become Astraios, who in the myths were also the father of the winds, including Zephyros .Her mother is Dione as in the myths.  
__¤ Hestia's son Kerin and Nike's father Nias and sister Nanya are my own inventions.  
__¤ Ra is a god from the Egyptian pantheon_

* * *

My family - the House of Olympos – is a crazy lot. I believe the term you'd use is docu-soap if you'd been a fly on the wall. I've already told about Eos and her eternal love problem. She went from arms to arms without being able to settle. And one of these men gave her a son - Zephyros. Little Zephy was blond and blue-eyed and the first suspected fathers were of course Zeus and Astraios. But Eos refused to say so we kept on guessing for a while. I knew that Demeter knew (she always does) but she's so good at keeping secrets. 

Astraios - well, he had several women around town, but at the same time he and Leto were entertaining each other up home in a very buddy-like way. Leto admitted that she was bad at falling in love, that these kind of deep feelings were not her thing. I guess that was something she had passed on to her daughter, Artemis simply didn't care about men and love. And Hestia told that she had been badly burned once and was still healing her heart. Ironic - the mistress of fire. Nevertheless, Helios gave her the son Phaeton.

After that event Helios had some on-off thing going with the Hyperpantheon delegate Tyche of Antiocheia and then he connected with dads old adventure Europa. Then back to Tyche again and then further on to another delegate, Cybele of Ilaouda. A shortie with someone called Chalaira before he was back to Tyche for the third time and so on. And Poseidon, he was the same. Neyta of Kergandar and Medusa of Aswee were just two of his ladies, and he ran after Hestia too, but she declared "not interested".

When little sister Sakura was old enough she started to play around quite a bit too. Iris on the other hand had a long and enduring relation with Ra of Aigyptos, who was a more or less permanent guest up home. And when he was with Iris we never saw much of them.

Then there were Apollon and Irdonan. My brothers were the same age and they had a competition going about who could bed most girls. And Irdo was winning big time. Ollie hadn't got even a percentage of fathers skills in that area, he never seemed to make it beyond initial flirting while Irdo had new little adventures almost twice a week. The girls were in fact running after Irdo while they kept running away from Ollie instead.

Like Daphne who said she'd rather turn herself into a tree than dating Apollon, and walked right into the arms of Irdonan. When Apollon learned about that he jumped at Irdonan regardless of the fact that my mothers son is in fact both bigger and stronger than my fathers son. Ollie got beaten up rather bad before anyone got the chance to interrupt. All over just a girl who wasn't even pretty if you ask me.

There were other girls who Apollon failed to get. Like the party-babe Marpessa and Cassandra, a mortal upper-class girl of Troy. Then there was Artemis' friend Callisto - who happened to prefer Zeus. Tuff deal, at least Ollie couldn't jump at his dad.

Clythia was another girl who turned down Apollon. She called him all kinds of things, where conceited and arrogant were among the nicest ones. The only comfort for poor Ollie was that Clythia turned down Irdo as well. Perhaps she didn't like Olympians. Then Apollon had a try at Nike, and first it looked like he was getting his way. But then something made Nike change her mind, and when I questioned my friend she said:  
- He's just too much.  
- Too much of what?  
- Of everything. OK, he's kinda cute and good at singing and playing his music. But he's so intense and unyielding, and lacking of humour, and after a while you just have had enough of his company. At least I did.

Apollon had better luck with Coronis, a dark-haired innocent-looking girl working as a secretary at the Liberal party's office. She was nice enough, but a bit too clinging to my brother, and I guess Apollon tired of her ever-lasting affection in the end. She seemed to have no will of her own, it was always:  
- What do you think, Ollie? when asked about something.

Fact is that Apollon dumped Coronis, but decades later they were back together again, and this time Coronis gave Apollon his one immortal son, Asklepios.

Then came Aphrodite and with her complications. She was Astraios' daughter with Dione of Cyprus, a cute girl with long, curly, blond hair, rosy cheeks and large, purplish blue eyes. She came to visit her dad at Olympos now and then. And she was hardly 15 the first time she winded Irdo around her elegantly manicured finger.

So Irdo stopped playing around and dedicated his time to Aphrie, and Apollon could gain some in their mutual competition. Then, when Aphrie was a sweet sixteen, she dumped Irdonan and started to flirt with Apollon instead. For the first time it was Irdo who showed jealousy towards Ollie instead of the other way around. This event made me give Aphrodite the surname Trouble. Little did I know how well-fitting it would become.

Of all the people at Olympos it seemed that there were only Artemis and I who didn't take part in this stupidity. Artemis was busy working at Hera's office and couldn't be bothered with pointless sex. And I thought it was just too dull. A few moment of bliss - was it really worth all this hassle before and after? If I really wanted it I went for mortal men instead. Undercover and far away from home. Mortal men I could have and then dump and forget. Guess I got that from dad. But being the girl myself I never had to worry about unplanned offspring. Even these events were rare. I had other things occupying my mind.

Demeter and Oreynadan's marriage was a rarity at Olympos. It seemed as steady as if it had been imprinted in stone. When it came to love they only had eyes for each other and they were secure enough to give each other a long leash. Hera on the other hand was not that trusting, and I believe Zeus's history of being a real women's man played a large part in this. But at least during my youth dad was so busy with both work and all his children that he simply didn't have time for amorous adventures.

Hera's sons Ares and Auroanos were always fighting with each other. Usually it started with Auro teasing Ares about something. Ares was not as skilled with words as his little brother, so when he had no more answers he started to beat Auro up. Then the ones standing nearest had to pull them apart. Astraea also had a way of always getting in trouble, mostly by picking fights with her older brothers or breaking things, like dads expensive radio.

I was 21 when Hera and dad had Eleithya who was so incredibly cute. For the first time I wished I had a child too. On the other hand - for a child you need a father, and there were no suitable candidates around. So I "kidnapped" little Thya now and then and taught her to swim, make cocoa with whipped cream, pilfer nectar and other goodies, tell scary ghost stories and other necessities in life. (Well, I did teach her to read and write too. I did that with most of my younger sisters and brothers. For some reason that had become "Athena's work".)

If I hadn't had my friends to escape to now and then Olympos would have seemed intolerable with all its fights and dramas. But I could always visit Nike and her family and stay there for a while now and then to get distance to things. They weren't members of a pantheon, instead they preferred to live the core family way. Nike's parents Nias and Narlidda were wonderful and easygoing, and were always welcoming me with open arms.

Nike's older sister Nanya moved out soon though, to join her beloved Eleuse of the Angariderios pantheon in Verangana. Meanwhile Nike and I were having a great time together with Nike's brother Nardalon and his best friend Philotes. The four of us saw most of the world together, from the big city Edo in Nippon to the endless desserts in the western parts of Northern America. But while Edo was welcoming and interesting, especially when we were cruising around disguised as mortals, the wild American dessert held some scary and hostile gods who chased us away.

-Titan half-breeds, Nias warned us when we told him about America. You'd better avoid them. They have some strange and terrible powers and they might harm you badly. There's so much more to this world than red desserts anyway.  
- But there's gold there, Nardalon insisted.  
- And that gold is probably what these half-breeds are guarding. Now, stay away from America, you hear me!

Being chased out of America sort of took the edge off exploring the world, and we went on to other things. Philotes had become obsessed with the thoughts of gold, but instead of giving America another try he was going for metal transmutation.  
- Changing the atom structure of lead is the way of doing it, he told.  
- How to do that? I asked him. All I know about chemical reactions says...  
- Yes, but there's an older science, Philotes insisted. Alchemy. The old aristocrats of the House of Ayonia knew how to make gold. That's why they became so filthy rich. Unfortunately they took their secret with them into their grave when the Titans killed them. But there must be a way of repeating their success. And I'm going to find it!

I was thrilled for a while and helped Philotes, but our tries failed. We got crappy pseudo-copper, mercury and some strange radioactive matter instead. But we might've succeeded sooner or later if Philotes suddenly hadn't found my body more interesting than the elements we were trying to manipulate. When he came from behind and tried to kiss me one night, I was startled and spilled nitrite down in our experiment.

The result was an explosion which blew the lab to pieces and destroyed most of our work files. And a fight which ended our co-work.  
- No, I did not do that on purpose, I was defending myself.  
- Yes, you did. You blew it all - literally, just because you are afraid of intimacy with men!  
- What do you know about such a thing?  
- People talk, Athena!  
- Well, if these people are right and I am afraid of intimacy, why the chaos did you do that to me then? And ruined all our work?

To that Philotes had no other answers than insults and we fought a bit more. Eventually we got over it but then we had lost interest in making gold. When Philotes years and years later took up the experiments I was too busy to join. On top of that Dad had showed me that it was possible to make gold using advanced psykokinesis of a kind only he managed these days.

- It was probably this way the Ayonians did it, he said after turning some old rifle ammunition into glittering yellow. But it's difficult and tiring, demands a lot of concentration. I don't think it's worth the toil, there are easier ways to make a fortune, just ask Hestia! She has made more money for the House of Olympos with her stock market analysises than anyone ever could have done by turning old scrap into gold.

¤ ¤ ¤

When I was 27 Poseidon was starting to give me trouble. He had some idea that he could flirt me down, and I wasn't the slightest interested, so I ended up in a kind of cat and mouse game that was so annoying and so embarrassing, because the sea-god wasn't taking no for an answer. It was always like:  
- Get out of my hair, Poseidon, I am still not going to come over and sit in your lap!  
- Oh, come on, Titi!  
- I'm not Titi with you. That's dads private nick.  
- Well I'd love to be private with you. And I know you...  
- Answer is no! What's your problem with understanding that? Water in the ears?

- Between his ears, someone was suddenly saying behind me. Little brother Ares coming to my defence? Or, rather more interested in fuzzing with Poseidon. Ares got what he wanted. Poseidon rose fast and leaped over to my brother.  
- I'm going to teach you, brat, one or two things about manner!

He took a beat at Ares, who blocked Poseidon's right hand with his left arm while giving the sea-god an uppercut with the right fist. The next moment Apollon, Astraios, Irdonan and Helios were doing their best to pull the men apart. Dad was also arriving to the scene of the fight. Artemis was shaking her head, Sakura rolling her eyes and Aphrodite had forgotten that she was teasing Irdonan and was staring at Ares with an interested look. What was it really with some women - getting excited when men fought?

Of course dad wanted to know what the hubbub was about and placed himself firmly between the two combatants. Poseidon was like:  
- Teaching your brat of a son a few manners.

And Ares:  
- He was being rude to Athi.  
- What about? dad asked.  
- He has got the impression that I'm interested in playing around with him, I told. As in the man/woman thing.  
- Is that so? dad turned to me.

- Zeus, I was just teasing her a bit, Poseidon was saying. Athena is so uptight. She can only benefit from loosing up a bit.  
- But not with you, your octopus! I snapped.  
- Athena... Poseidon started but dad cut him off:  
- There are plenty of women out there who'd gladly loose up both one and two bits together with you, Poseidon. Go for one of them instead!  
- And leave Athena alone, Ares chimed in. Or I'll rearrange your face so it'll be more octopus-like too.

Auroanos, Sakura, Aphrodite, Irdonan and even Apollon started to laugh but dad scolded Ares, telling him that fist-fights was no tool for solving problems. But Poseidon wasn't listening, he challenged my brother:  
- OK, puppy! Pick a place and time and I'll se how long you last against me without your brothers holding on to any of us.  
- Gladly... Ares started, but dad cut in:  
- Forget it! Both of you! You're grown-up men. Not school-kids. If I hear anything about a fight between you, you're both in for accountant duty. And Poseidon, same thing if you don't leave Athena alone.

That was it. For a couple of weeks at least. Then Poseidon was at me again. And this time it resulted in a fist-fight. Or at least I got a good punch into Poseidon's nose. He sprouted some blood and Sakura, Eos and Irdonan, who happened to be around, got a chance to cheer and applaud. After that Poseidon sort of got the message. At least he wasn't harassing me again.


	5. Hera leaves Zeus

_Thanks to __ErisRocks__, person, __Lady-of-the-Ravens__ and Harajuku Girl for feedback_ **

* * *

**

**Hera leaves Zeus**

I haven't said anything about my dads escapades yet. But they're a novella in themselves. Zeus and Hera had been married for almost three decades when he started to cheat on her. First he was discreet enough, and I guess Hera pretended that she didn't see. But then children started to appear. Europa wasn't the only one who had used Dad as an unknowing sperm donor. Imandros was the son of some railway goddess called Trimerda and Aglaia was the daughter of Eunomia of Thainavouri. Kids who seemed to pop out of nowhere. But they never became members of the Olympos, and we hardly saw them around, so I guess Hera could pretend that they didn't exist.

It became different with Hermes. Very different. Not only did he end up as an Olympian, he almost ruined dads marriage by his mere appearance. It was not so much about the boy himself, he was charming and smart, and even Hera couldn't help liking him in the end. It was the fact that he was the son of Maia, one of Hera's political co-workers and best friends that made it all so awkward.

Hermes was an auburn-haired and skinny 15 year old with his dads enchanting smile. The same age as Kerin and with the teenager's body of dangling arms and legs with too big feet and hands. And one day he was just standing at the doorstep.  
- Have nowhere to go, was his first words, according to Iris who received him.  
- And what makes you think you're going here? Iris asked.  
- Zeus does. He's my pa.

I was having breakfast with Dad when Iris came up with Hermes. Luckily Hera had left, starting her working day earlier than dad this gloomy and rainy Thirdday. Most people had left to be true. Or were sleeping in. On the other hand both dad and I love long breakfasts, and we usually get the chance to talk in this idle hour between sleep and duty. Not this day though.  
- This is Hermes, Iris was pushing the boy ahead of her. Rings a bell, Zeusy? Dad rose one eyebrow the way he always does when he's a bit taken aback.  
- Of Warinikia, right? he said. This made me pay attention. Warinikia? Then we were related! (Indeed we were!)

- I'm not so sure about that anymore, the boy said and looked firmly upon us. Ha looked sad and forlorn where he stood in front of us, winged cap in his hands, like we were stern judges and he was expecting some kind of harsh dismiss. Dad put down his cup.  
- What do you mean?  
- Mam's moved in with that asshole who showed me the door. Slept in the Temple of Neyta tonight, just because she's my friend.  
- What asshole? dad asked.  
- Name's Boreas. Of Sarention. Son of a Titan hypdelegate. New Dawn like ma. Ma told me 'bout you'n'her million years ago. An' Neyta thought I should go see you. Just to... well. Maybe I could get a loan. For housing.

- Hermes! Come on over here, dad was saying. A loan? I owe you a lot both when it comes to time and money. Titi, here's your brother Hermes. Hermes, meet your sister Athena! Dad got up and hugged his son and I met Iris' looks, mindspoke a big _"?"_ and she sent back _"!" _to me with risen eye-brows. _Hera ain't gonna like this_, she sent further. _You bet!_ I returned.

Iris was right of course. Hera was angered, sad and disappointed with dad. Astraea, Sakura and I managed to walk right in on their fight. Not that it was hard, they were quarrelling right in the lounge outside the dining-room half an hour before dinner. Neither of them bothered with the fact that both Hestia and Apollon were around, the former making the latter a drink from the bar.

- But why?! Hera was raging. And why Maia of all people? The New Dawn Secretary General?  
- Hera, you were busy and overworked, doing late nights in the Office. I wanted some pleasure without having to bother you. And Maia happened to be around.  
- Don't you know that I need you most when I'm tired? Don't you know after all these years...  
- Hera, I know very well. But you must also understand...

- Zeus, what is it I have to understand? What is it really that I am not understanding in this case?  
- ...that it was just some diversion. A way for me to...  
- So how many more diversions have you had beside of Maia? Am I not good enough anymore? Are you tired of me, you mean? Am I tiring you the way Themis tired you and Electra and Amaterasu and...  
- No, never, my love!

- Come, Sakura said at the moment her mother's name was dropped. Let's go!  
- No, we're not! I stated. This is our lounge too! I hooked arms with my sisters, and we swept aside of dad and Hera and up to Hestia in the bar.  
- Gimme a Crazy Rooster, Tia! Hello Ollie, how's your recording going? Apollon got the message and started a lengthy explanation that wasn't really that interesting, but entertaining enough for us to pretend, while dad and Hera went on in the background. Ares and Auroanos who had been trailing behind us, came up as well.

- But don't you understand how I feel, Zeus? Hera wasn't screaming, but her Nexus session voice seemed to drown all conversation and involuntarily draw our attention to her. Working charisma, not a chance to pretend that you weren't hearing.  
- No, because there's absolutely no reason for you to feel anything more than if I had just had a drink or a dance with Maia. There's no reason for you to be jealous because...  
- Because you think you can cheat on me with my friends and colleges and I should just shut up and be a good wife and a co-worker in this pantheon as well as in the Nexus.  
- Don't drag in politics into this!

- You're not the one to tell me "don't", Zeus! You're not the one to to tell me anything! Now, can I please have my heart back! I'm out of here. By these words Hera turned and walked out of the lounge, head held high and sweeping gown, sound of her heels echoing through the sudden silence. When she had left the charisma disappeared and we snapped out of it. All of us. Dad was standing alone in the middle of the room, looking confused and awkward, brows wrinkled together and hands toying restlessly with his toga. Then he faced us:  
- What you looking at? Finish your drinks and then lets eat!

We all stared down in our glasses, like there suddenly was something interesting going on among the ice cubes. No-one said a word but the tension was so thick you could have cut through it with a knife. Only little Hephaistos seemed unbothered, where he sat underneath a side table taking an alarm clock apart.

¤¤¤

I met Artemis coming out from Hera and dads house the next day. She looked moody and was carrying some stuff that was Hera's.  
- What's wrong?  
- Hera left dad.  
- Why?  
- Because of Hermes.  
- But I mean... That was a fling, wasn't it? I mean it's not the first time dad has...  
- Apparently he promised her a "never more" the last time. When he had been with Diamanda of Corinth. You know Maia is working at the New Dawn office. Hera must have taken that as some kind of an insult. Like dad isn't respecting her political position.

- Poor Hera, I said. But in a way I think she's over-reacting. She knows that dad loves her and would never leave her.  
- No he won't. Because now _she_ has left _him_, Artemis stated. I'm taking these things down to her office. I guess she's going to stay in Danakeia tonight. You know she still has her apartment there. A New Dawner of hers used to live there, and he has moved out. Very convenient. But apparently this has been coming for a while. Hermes was just the last grain to tip the scales. And a real good excuse.

- What about Hephaistos? He's only...  
- I'm bringing him too. Tonight. And dad's moody as chaos. He's no great company at the moment, to say the least.  
- I'm going in anyway. I have to talk to dad about business things, and he can need something else to concentrate on.

No, dad hadn't been happy that day. And his mood stayed at an all time low. He kept nagging about details and was irritated at minor stuff that hadn't bothered him before, like the lack of blueberry ice-cream in the freezer or some over the top cheerful anchor on the radio. Now and then he had outbursts that was not out of this world. Needless to say, we were all trotting on our toes around him. Those needed to be around that was. Poseidon disappeared among the waves and Helios went to Selene in Argos. And to Iris, Ra's little flat in Erkandia suddenly became very cosy. Sakura was the next to take leave. She packed her bags and went to Parnassos to live with her mother Amaterasu and her baby sister Akiko.

- Someone has to talk to Hera, Leto was saying. It was a week later and we were a handful sitting at Hestia's place around her fire, all of us sick and tired of this drama.  
- Who you suggest? I asked, hearing the strain in my voice.  
- And someone has to talk to Zeus too, Aphrodite said. She sat with her hands around her large belly. It was only a question of days now before her baby was due.  
- I guess Hestia or perhaps Artemis should go reason with Hera, Leto went on. And Athena talks to Zeus.  
- Me? What shall I say to him? I met Leto's green eyes across the fruit-filled low table. The lights from the huge fireplace reflected off her tar-black hair, kept in a short page around her motherly, round face.

- Say what you're saying in your heart all the time. He listens to you. More than to anyone else except for perhaps Hera.  
- He listens to you, Leto, I replied, reaching for another handful of indigo olives. And to Apollon. Isn't it better if Ollie speaks to him? Man to man.  
- No waaaay! Apollon held up his hand. I'm just out from a big fight with dad about a pure nonsense thing.  
- He's been on your back about the Nexus office director position again? Leto asked her son.  
- Yeah, I wished he could stop nagging me about that one. I'm not the least interested...

- I'll talk to Zeus, Astraios said. I know about this man to man thing. I know what kind of affair he had with Maia and I know how he can tell Hera that it's no big deal.  
- You'll do that? I turned expectantly to the Thessalian protector who was filling up Artemis' cup of wine.  
- Sure!  
- Great! Because I don't really know what to say in a case like this. OK, dad and I talk about most things, but his woman affairs - give me a break! I'm not even experienced in these kind of things. Except for some toy-boys there has been no-one really and I... Ah, forget it.

- And who talks to Hera? Aphrodite asked. Hestia? Mimi? First all became silent. Then Artemis and Hestia tried to speak at the same time, quieted at the same time and then looked at each other before Hestia sighed and said:  
- I'll talk to Hera. It's not the first time I've been talking to her about Zeus. I'll have her back at Olympos even if I'm going to get a soar throat in the venture.  
- Then I'll heal you, Tia, Apollon offered with a glittering smile. (Artemis was right - her brother had a crush on Hestia!)

- Then there's one more thing, Astraea said. What about Hermes?  
- What about him? Apollon asked.  
- He's still around. And if Mama's going to come home I bet she'd like to see Hermes gone.  
- He's not going anywhere, Apollon said and Artemis was talking at the same time:  
- Then what about us? You want all of dads children who don't belong to your mother out?

- I didn't say that, Astraea started and the rest of what she was saying drowned in a mix of agreements from Auroanos and protests from the twins.  
- Shut up! I snapped. Hermes deserves better than to be kicked out from home the second time in a month. Where should he go by the way?  
- His mother should... Eleithya started.  
- Bullshit, Hermes is staying, said Apollon. He had become Hermes' biggest supporter after the event when Hermes "borrowed" Apollon's car and wrecked it. To say he was sorry Hermes had given Apollon something he had invented - an electric guitar. Since then the half-brothers were like best friends.

- I agree with my son. Leto said. There's no reason for sending away little Hermes. He has done nothing wrong. This mess is completely beyond his works. No-one chose his or her parents. Hermes just happened to be the result of this sad story. I guess even Hera will understand that after letting off most of her anger.  
- I think I picked my parents, Artemis said. Love you mum! She gave Leto a hug and I got one of these rare pains in my chest when I thought about my own missing mother.

¤¤¤

Aphrodite's daughter got the name Harmonia, and she was a redheaded and pudgy little baby who was smiling most of the time. This made me suspect that Irdonan was the father, but Aphrie didn't want to tell and I wasn't that good at gene-tracing back then. I went to Irdo with my suspicions and Irdo had Demeter confirming that I had been right. Then he simply went over to Aphrie and asked for his daughter in a bossy manner worthy of Hera herself.

The next week Sakura returned up home.  
- I refuse to be a baby-sitter, she replied when I asked about her decision against staying in Parnassos.  
- But I thought you said Akiko was such a sweet baby?  
- Yeah, but that doesn't mean I should have to be her nanny. That's nymph work! On top of that mum is cross-examining all my friends and deep-probing me all the time when I've been out doing things. I want my own life, which I couldn't have at Parnassos. You're lucky to not have a mother!  
- No I'm not!

- But Amaterasu treats me like I'm a kid! Dad has never been like that. He respects us and knows that we can handle our lives ourselves! That's why I'm coming back here, because at Olympos I'm a grown-up, not some retarded calf!

I was surprised at Sakura's outburst, I found Amaterasu as lovely, even if I was aware of her inclinations of overprotecting her daughter. She had been at dad years back because Sakura and Ares had fought so much. But dad had been convinced that my sister and brother could straighten these things out themselves, and he had been right about it too. I guessed that different people simply dealt with parenthood in different ways, and I couldn't help wondering what my own mother would have been like. If she too had been overprotecting like Amaterasu, caring like Leto, reasoning like Hera or with dad's respectful tolerance.

Astraios went talking to dad and Hestia to Hera. Dad threw Astraios out after five minutes (Astraea and Auroanos were farsight-spying) and Hestia was gone for two days. Then she returned to Olympos with sloping shoulders. We were gathered in the very same lounge where Hera and dad had been arguing two months ago.

- No, she's not coming back, Hestia told us.

- Now what is this crap! Dad rose from his place in the sofa. My wife won't come home? Now I've had it with her. I'm going to get her right back here, right now.  
- Zeus! Hestia protested. Don't make it worse!  
- No I'm not. But I'm sick of being treated like a chauvinistic pig because I happened to have a little boy outside of the regular marriage.

- Well you were one, dad, Astraea whispered low enough for just me and Eleithya to hear. I was glad that Hermes wasn't around at the moment. Apollon had dragged him away on some music event. Wanted to show off the inventor of the electric guitar no doubt.

¤¤¤

I talked to Nike, told her the whole story and how miserable I felt.  
- But Hera should have known, I finished and looked my friend in her round, dark-brown eyes. She knows what kind of man dad is. That he can't stay away from beautiful women.  
- I guess she was hoping... That Zeus had changed when he married her. We all hope. Dad and mum got back seven times by the way. Seven times! I guess they tried really hard to find a way to patch it up again. But there never was one. So now they're separated once and for all. At least I guess it's once and for all.  
- I hope this won't be "once and for all" for dad and Hera. Because no matter how crazy it might sound - they need each other.

Nike and I sat in her living room, she has a large apartment in Helicon outside Ekarantanni, and it's open and airy with large windows, not much furniture or carpets and her own abstract oil paintings on the walls. She had served mood-rising nectar in high glasses, but it didn't seem to have any effect on me. Instead Nike tried to cheer me up by blabbing away gossip about gods and goddesses in the Union Nexus. Like:

- Orion's resigning. You know his last sister died. At an age of 92. Now his whole mortal family is gone. And the guy suddenly realises that he is not going the same way. That he's immortal for real, so he has to hang on. He's going to "walkabout" he says. No idea what he means, only that he's out of the Hyperpantheon at the end of this session. Attica has to get a new delegate. What happened to your settlement in Attica by the way?

- Nothing. Yet. I'm still looking for a way to finance it.  
- Athi, go to Attica, check out the candidates running to replace Orion! Then you support the one who's interested in financing your town.  
- Great idea, Nike!

I got more news from Nike. Unofficial stuff, about some sneaky business Demeter had been involved in while dad had been busy trying to patch his marriage back together again. So I went to see dad the first thing after coming home that evening. He was not at home so I decided to leave a message at his desk.

Dad and Hera's house is located south of the Main Building, on a low hill surrounded by two canals and with a little rose garden that Hera tends on her spare time. Inside are Hera and dads offices, their bedroom, dads private library, a living room and some other facilities, all very lofty with big windows letting in a lot of sun, and often open to let in fresh air too. It's furnished in white and gold with potted plants, marble sculptures, mirror walls and water art. I had grown used to that style, so my home is very much the same, down to the outdoor Jacuzzi on a balcony. A direct opposite to Hestia's and Sakura's more cosy quarters.

I went to dads office at the second floor, grabbed a pen and an empty piece of paper, sat down and wrote down Nike's information, adding my own thoughts about it. When I was almost done I felt familiar energies and heard talk out in the two-floored staircase hall. Then people entered the room. It was dad. With Hera in his arms. She looked like she must have done when she met and fell in love with dad for the first time back in those war years. All starry-eyed and filled with joy. Dad put her down and said:  
- You know that resistance is futile, Peacock.

Then he spotted me.  
- Athena, what do you want?  
- It's the coal-mine in Verathea. Demeter has had it closed down. I'll...  
- We'll talk about that later, Athena, can't you see I'm busy?  
- OK, I shrugged. Then I met Hera's jacaranda eyes. Welcome back - Peacock!  
- Your dad came up with that nickname once. She smiled, looked all dizzy and sort of unfocused. Then she lost herself in dads eyes again. He, on the other hand, had already forgotten I was there.

- Guess I'll see you two around. I'll go and talk to DeeDee about Verathea myself. I've left info on your desk, dad. No-one answered and I hadn't really expected them to either. I exited dads office leaving the newly-reunited couple alone. I believed he and Hera wouldn't be seen until next day. Not that I really cared, I had to go and collect some debts.

When I closed the door to dads office I could hear the laughter of dad and Hera, Hera asking dad to stop something. It was like the last weeks events hadn't taken place at all. And if it wasn't for the presence of Hermes they might as well not


	6. A goddess' work never ends

**A goddess' work never ends**

_Author's note__ about some of the characters:  
¤__ Except for Orion all of the Attic gods are my own inventions__. And Orion wasn't a god in the myths but he is in my story_

* * *

Taking Nike's advice I started to research the Attic candidates for the resigning Orion's Hyperpantheon seat. There were in fact only two names up: A god named Aganthanon and a goddess named Pancleia. With hardly 500 mature immortals living in the Union Zeus had created, there weren't that many to choose from. At least 150 of us lived in the area of the capital, Ekarantanni. The rest of the gods were spread over the other 48 provinces, from Valhalla in the north to Carvessa in the south; Nippon in the east to Avalon in the west.

Save for Orion, Attica only held 4 immortals, Aganthanon, Pancleia, the former's mother, and the latter's spouse. And Pancleia was seen as a "foreigner", hailing originally from Akaia, so all bets were on the tall, dark and handsome Aganthanon. There was something mysterious upon him, which attracted me, and I believe the attraction was mutual. But I was not down in Attica to chase boys but to find out if any of these deities were interested in sponsoring my Alfapolis settlement.

None were. Not from the start at least. They both told me that they were content with the towns that already existed and that the south was rocky and barren. So I flirted a bit with Aganthanon, tempted him with giving him a hand with the election in return for Settler's Money. At the same time Pancleia played dirty, telling the Attics that my talks with Aganthanon and even my presence here proved that Olympos was meddling with Attica's internal businesses. Times like this being Olympian felt more like a burden than an asset.

Feeling cornered I found myself in dad's house seeking for advice, only to find that he was visiting the pantheon of Amon together with Hermes and Astraea. Instead my stepmother provided me with valuable help.  
- Sit down, dearest! Hera indicated one of the antique chairs in her classy office. Now, let me know what's on your heart!

Obediently I told her about Attica while I glanced at the expensive art covering the walls and awed over how she could keep everything so neat and tidy. My office resembled a dump compared to Heras. When I had finished Hera kept quiet for a while, obviously processing my information before offering her advice. Hera had another "been there-done that" which was very similar to my activities in Attica. She adviced me to tell Pancleia frankly and without hiding any facts what my Alfapolis project was about and why I wanted it to happen. Pancleia was told everything, including what I knew about the energy lines and the fact that her adversary had gotten the same information earlier.

- The only reason for me to talk to Aganthanon first was that he was flirting with me, I said, looking into the suspicious eyes of the Attic goddess. Pancleia was sitting opposite me in her neat and pretty little courtyard, cup of watered wine in her hand and the late afternoon sun shining off flames of orange hair. And I, the visitor, sipped on my cup, politely not telling that her beverage was too sweet and stale. Instead I provided her with the most honest explanation I could give.

Pancleia had been untrusting first, but then she had asked me why I wanted to help Attica of all the regions in the Union.  
- Because according to my researches here is where the best place for founding a new town lies. No passion, no power games, just a scientific reason for wanting this place.  
- Why in the south? No one lives there.  
- Not yet. But there is where the powerline-cross lies.  
- What are these power-lines really? Pancleia wanted to know.

I explained about my research and about the great line running through Azriania, Eunoria, Ekarantanni and down south through Elesiopolis, Verangana, Thebe and out in the Central Ocean, to surface again on Crete before disappearing below the continental plate. The other line meandered from the Eastern East Coast, through Terraolanthas, Nurandoris, the Troad, out in the Central Ocean, across the Karalodea archipelago and surfacing on Attica not far from where I wanted to build that new town. Then it went on through Corinth, Delphi, Karenzia, Ninuria and Argos, before vanishing in the Western Ocean.  
- Perhaps it surfaces on Atlantis. I don't know, I haven't traced it so far.

- How many of those lines are there?  
- About a hundred I know of. I have only traced those on our continent and the Southern continent. That's only 1/4 of the world. Perhaps there are 300 more. There might also be shorter and weaker lines which I haven't found yet.  
- And if I support your... Alfapolis ...what will happen to the rest of Attica?  
- Nothing.  
- So mortals won't move from Atticapolis or Elyssa to your new town?  
- I can't tell what mortals will do; probably there'll be people moving down from the mountains nearby to settle in the new town. People seeking business opportunities, better housing or simply a job. With the growing population rate there's hardly any risk for Northern Attica to be drained. On the contrary. Founded towns in other parts of the Union have actually benefited more or less the whole region. Save for failures like Netka in Raeiadia.

In the end both of the Attic candidates were bidding over each other for my support. Then they found a truce meaning that Pancleia got the Hyperpantheon seat and Aganthanon was promised the guardianship of the new settlement - when that came to be. My first mistake, but I was still a rookie at these things back then.

¤-¤-¤

While I was waiting for the settlement funding to start ticking in I was studying these gas-filled flying blimps that had been travelling across the continent now for about two decades. They weren't much faster than trains, hard to navigate, and rather expensive to run. And when one of those Air Ships exploded in the air harbour of Mycenae, killing 200 mortals and the goddess Daelona and wounding about 1000, people started to talk about banning the Air Ships.

I was convinced that there must be better ways of navigating through the air than with helium-filled super balloons. Then I got an idea while playing with a discus. Speed combined with the right form! My first aeroplanes were round as discuses, Ares labelled them Flying Saucers and three of them crashed, the last one wounding me badly. I had Apollon healing me, and since he owed me for helping him off the hook the latest time dad wanted him into politics, he didn't tell on me. I didn't want to worry anyone that I was endangering myself.

- You could have shielded yourself better, little Athi, my big brother scolded me. Then you wouldn't have been so burned.  
- I know! Don't you think... Well, I guess I was too preoccupied with saving my birdie.  
- Screw the engines next time, Athilove! It's only iron and plastic anyway, while you are flesh and blood and valuable to me.  
- I'm glad I can turn to you when I screw up, Ollie! You always understand.

- We're sort of black sheep here on Olympos you and I not being into politics, Apollon smiled.  
- Well, I haven't seen Ares being that interested in the trade either.  
- Oh, he! Hera's first son. He's got such a long leash. Sometimes I just want to pour a bucket of cold water over him.  
- Ha! Hera's been talking about you as spoiled, so I guess that evens it up a bit.  
- And you - dads favourite!  
- I guess no-one's perfect.

It took almost half the night for my burned skin to heal, even with the help of Apollon. But when the sun came up the only thing showing was a slight reddening on my arms and upper back, the parts that had been worse off. A long-sleeved tunic and no-one would notice a thing. Then I went flying again. I only crashed once more, this time managing to jump off the vehicle in good time before it dug itself into the ground.

I dumped the Saucers and started studying how the birds did it instead. Half a year later I had something that behaved more like a seagull than a balloon and could actually land and take-off safely, cross the Western section of the continent in less than 24 hours and was safe and convenient. The world loved it. I betrayed myself, investing some of my private savings for Alfapolis into an aeroplane factory instead. And I found I had a little fan:

One evening in Plow Month I went into my kitchenette to get some nectar out of the fridge. I had had a busy day and was planning a restful night on my own with a good read. Singing to myself I started to prepare some snacks, when I suddenly felt a presence out in my workshop. Dad? Was he going to add more duties to my already full scheme? I sighed and put down cup and plate on the kitchen desk and went out in the workshop.

There I spotted young Hephaistos standing and looking at the blue-prints.  
- Hi there!  
- Hi! The child looked up at me with intelligent, almond-shaped brown eyes. (Why did they say he was so ugly? He was cute in a kind of unfinished way, like he just needed some polishing and detail makeover.)  
- Looking at my aeroplane?  
- Yeah... hope it's OK.  
- Of course it is. You can look as much as you want. There are no secrets here. Only my sketches.

- I wanna ask you... the nine year old started.  
- What?  
- Can you teach me? I wanna build planes too. His head went down, red cheeks and eyes staring at his not overly clean shoes. Shy boy.  
- Oh, darling! I went over and hugged him. Of course I can! I'll show you everything. I'll take you to the factory and show you the work line and the engineer's lab too. Everything! The only catch is that you have to come over here early in the mornings, because I'm an early riser and want to start off quick.

The boy looked so happy and I almost felt ashamed. I realised I had been neglecting my family over the last few years, being so occupied with my projects that I had hardly got to know this little brother of mine. The same for Persephone, Demeter and Oreynadan's daughter. And Eos and Astraios' relation had been a complete surprise when Astraea told me about it. I hadn't been around to see it develop. I was glad Nike was involved in my Alfapolis project, so I kept seeing at least her on a regular basis. I decided to take this boy as a ward. He was technically gifted and interested in my projects. Given time he could be useful too.

- One more thing, I told him that evening when I walked him over to dad and Hera's place.  
- Yeah?  
- Get another pair of trousers! You look ridiculous when you limp around in those too big ones you're wearing now, falling over your feet all the time. You're not going to get respect if you behave that way!  
- But they're the only ones with enough pockets. Where I can store stuff.  
- Heph, hand them over to the tailor-nymph then and have them shortened. Or have her make you another pair more your size. Then I expect you to wear a tunic when we go down to the plant. There are a lot of mortals down there, and in their realm looks is as important as brains. You have to look smart and posh.

- But I'm ugly!  
- No, you're not. But dress is half the man. Then I think you'll have to get a haircut too.  
- Isn't there anything about me that's good?  
- Your brain and your manner. You're clever and talented. Still appearance matters, especially when meeting new people, which you are going to start doing now!

The next day I had my first long breakfast in ages, talked to dad about taking Hephaistos aboard and also about scaling down a bit on my work and socialising a bit more. He was glad to hear that. He poured more cocoa and told me:  
- You're not the only one scaling down. Hera has decided to leave the Nexus Chairlady Office after the next Nexus session.  
- She has?  
- Yes. Next year'll be her 50:th in that office, and she feels that it's time to take a break. Let in new blood. Fresh ideas.

- And you never tire, dad? Of being Divine King, I mean?  
- What do you mean? he smiled. You're after my position, daughter?  
- Not a chance! Didn't I just say I was scaling down?

Dad laughed. Then he told me that there definitely were times when he was sick and tired of everything too.  
- But I know that I can't hand it over, because there's no-one to hand it over to. It's not like the Union Nexus Chair Office, which is guided by several rules and limitations and can be run by working some 40-50 hours a week. No, I'm almost working around the clock, being creative even in my sleep. And there's so much things being only up here, dad tapped at his forehead, that I haven't even had time to put down on paper.

- If I was to resign, he went on, I'd first have to find someone who want to do my work. Who want spend most of her or his life navigating this crazy vessel that is the Union. Someone who wants to do it, not only six years or ten or sixty. Or even 600, but possibly longer than that. Someone who can cope. Then I guess I have to spend at least two decades teaching this person my work. I mean, I'm still learning. As late as yesterday I found out that bribery isn't only about money or sex and such obvious things. It can be connected to blood-feuds and honorary debts going back to even before the fall of Chronos. These weeds are rooted deep down in society, tying their roots and branches around both mortals and deities. Going to take ages to root that out, if it even can be done.

- And you have to do it?  
- Not necessarily. But I have to oversee it. Show that the Divine King knows. And that he disapproves. And that he's watching.  
- Ha! Good luck! And how can you ever believe I... Anyone want to trade?  
- Perhaps if they want the power. Without knowing what comes with it.


	7. Hephaistos

**Hephaistos**

_Author's note__ about some of the characters  
__¤ Arelis__, little brother of Aeolus, is my own invention. Phaeton is a demigod in the myths but a full blood immortal in my story. And Ixion is also a mortal but becomes a god in my story  
__¤ Freya is a goddess from the Norse pantheon_

_Thanks to Harajuku Girl, __Lady Fael__ and __lady knight keladry__ for feedback. And yes, Lady Fael I know well the sad story about Zeus and his former beloved Metis, but I consider that one being allegoric if anything + it wouldn't fit in a semi-realistic interpretation like this.  
_

* * *

The summer of 66 became interesting and terrific! I had Hephaistos as my apprentice, he was intelligent, engaged and willing to learn. Then I spent much more time with both friends and family, did incognito beach trips and went holidaying on Crete, not far away from where dad had grown up. Amazingly I had never seen the place before. A tiny village among the mountains, getting most of its income from the tourists wanting to see the birthplace of Zeus. All right, it had become a tacky amusement park, but I guess that was only to expect.

In the end of Highsummer Month I felt different. Liberated. And I fell in love for real for the first time in my life. With that Attic god Aganthanon. It was wonderful. First.

Then it started to become complicated, the way I had always feared love would be. Agy demanded more and more of my time and my attention and he was really irritated when I brought Hephaistos to Alfapolis.  
- But he's here to learn. And he won't bother us.  
- But I can't stand him staring at us. I can't stand his ugly face and the way he sneaks up from behind all the time.  
- He's not ugly and he's not sneaking!  
- One can get the impression that he's your kid, the way you always drag him around and defend him.  
- He's my little brother for Faith's sake!

- But isn't there anyone else to take care of him? His mother and father? No, sorry, I forgot, they are Important Gods. The Divine King and the Nexus Chair Lady. Of course they won't deal with a little ugly boy. I'm only surprised that they didn't throw him off the Olympos to start with.  
- Agy!

We fought, and then he told me that he had cheated on me with Nike. And I believed him! I was also more angered with Nike than with Agy to be honest. Nike had to take some undeserved raging before I unserstood that Agy had been lying about it. It took so much unnecessary time and energy to straighten it out. So when that was done our love was dead and Aganthanon had become a nuisance in my life instead. Especially when he wanted to patch it all up again and start over. I was stupid enough to give him a second chance around Dark Month. It only led to another fight about poor Hephaistos, very similar to the first one.

When Hera left the Chair Lady's office in the year 67 Artemis had taken over. But it has not been easy for my sister to reach the position, on the contrary. There had been some changes in the Constitution since Hera was elected, and these days the Chair Lady was chosen by a general election instead of being appointed by the Nexus. Artemis had to defeat Pasithea, daughter of Xenon of Thessalia-Ekarantanni, the Argospantheon goddess Goladia and the Hyperpantheon delegates Iryadan of Garondas and Eridanus of Akarnaiya.

I would be lying if I said that Artemis didn't benefit from being Olympian, but the race was hard anyway, and in the end I believe she won by being her honest, straightforward and uncomplicated self. And by knowing how the Office worked of course. Hera had been a good teacher.

After her resignation my stepmum sided with Oreynadan and Demeter as dads helper. Iris, who had been working for Hera the last decades, came along. So dad got some more spare time and could actually be seen relaxing now and then up home. He and I took up playing square-board again, just like when I was a little girl, and he danced with Hera to Apollon's music or partook in all our endless late-night discussions about every pointless subject there were. Philosophy! Never done until the wee hours with Iris and Ares sleeping in their couches while people like Artemis, Auroanos, Hermes and yours truly went on unbothered by the flying time.

Regardless of my problems with Aganthanon and some usual fuzz between members of my family, life went on in a rather smooth track the coming years. It might even have been boring if I hadn't had Hephaistos to teach and look after. He was full of ideas and little tricks and challenged me constantly with his creativity. Together we toyed with cameras and developed the motion pictures. First in black and white and then in colour. Then with sound added!

Our first actors were our pantheon of course. We had Apollon playing guitar, Artemis teaching little Persephone archery, Oreynadan and Iris fencing, Aphrodite kissing Auroanos (sneaky one that), Ares fighting with Irdonan, Zephyros and Hermes throwing Helios in the Silver Coin lake, dad showing off with thunderbolts (that one got overexposed), Eos turning 90 and Hestia lighting the New Year Bonfire (and Demeter's gown). To mention a few things.

Then there was Astraios. It seemed like the protector of Thessalia could smell our camera. He was the real lens louse, appearing in almost every picture we had. Either he was the main starring character, making drinks, somersaulting in the staircase hall, performimg magic stunts or cracking jokes. Or he kept popping up behind other people, making faces and dropping one-liners.

In the end I couldn't help wondering why he was acting the way he did.  
- Because it's fun of course! the Thessalian protector smiled. I was beginning to get bored with things around, and along come Athi and Heph with their new amazing toy. I have never seen myself from the outside in this raw and realistic way. When you're memorysighting, there's always some polishing going on. And since I'm not that good at these things I don't do them often.

- We better name these films "The adventures of Astraios, featuring the rest of Olympos", Hephaistos suggested.  
We presented the films on white screens and it almost felt like farseeing, only that the quality of the pictures were not as good and you had no control over them, because they were already "made". Anyway - the Olympians loved the novelty of seeing themselves in a new way.

The first official film presentation was much more plain and pale. Moving cars, crashing waves and crowding people at the Ekarantanni Central Station. And hoards of mortals in ecstasy over dads appearance in Olympia south of Xanetakar. The motion pictures became a success anyway and my name was suddenly up there with the most renowned deities. Not because of being Zeus's daughter but because of being an inventor. People were starting to remember Athena!

Hephaistos' friend Arelis (little brother of Aeolus by the way) took interest in our aeroplanes, and he helped us developing better communication systems for the planes, including aircraft controllers operating from the airports with guiding the planes up and down. Naturally he became the God of Airports.

I liked Arelis from the start. Just like his older brother he's open and fair and with a laid back outlook on life. A bit of a booster though, and always enhancing his own importance in things. He became the one who had to clear up the mess when that conceited mortal engineer Arachne changed things in my blueprints. Arachne had though she was making improvements when she was actually endangering both passengers and people on the ground by making the planes less stable. All right, the planes got better manoeuvring capability, but it was on the cost of security, and faith knows how it could have ended.

Luckily Arelis spotted the errors before the planes in question left the manufacturing floor, sought me out and got my original blueprints, and no doubt saved us a lot of trouble, and possibly lives as well.

Another god involved was Helios' son Phaeton. He was a pilot and a very skilled one, and he liked to test the planes beyond their capacity from time to time. One day he crashed in a most spectacular way, setting farmlands and a forest on fire, killing several dozen unfortunate mortals. That event was something he had to live with for the nearest decades, _Phaeton the crash-pilot_. Dad wanted to kill his pilot career, but I insisted that he was to continue flying explaining that the fault had been with the plane instead of the pilot.

Hera and dad had another child. Little Alatheia arrived the year I turned 63, a cute little girl with oddly blond hair for being Hera's. She seemed to be the real proof that dad and Hera's relationship had taken a new start after Hera's retirement from the Chair Office. Perhaps dad could even decide upon staying faithful to his wife. Then we other Olympians wouldn't have to worry so much about these two.

And Poseidon got married! He found a goddess of his own kind, Amphitrite. She was daughter of Nereus, the old man of the sea, a god more than 1700 years old! But she had been hard to get. Dads chase of Hera seems like a walk in the park compared to all the hassle old sea-god went through to be able to get Amphie to the Mayor's office.

Hestia and Helios had the son Aietes and Aphrodite's and Irdonan's daughter Harmonia left Olympos to marry the Atlantean god Gerathian. That marriage only lasted a decade, but Harmonia didn't return to Olympos until centuries later. She ended up taking lovers among mortals and having mortal kids whom she left with the men. Then Sakura brought me the next bomb:  
- Iris and Zephyros!  
- But I thought she and Ares...  
- That was only sex apparently.

¤-¤-¤

Hephaistos invented the first helicopter, by placing the propeller on top of the plane instead of upon the wing. And making it really big. A stabilising propeller upon the tail fin, spinning in the opposite direction and the thing was flying. First it was ridiculed, but that didn't stop Hephaistos. He was used to hear harsh words.

- An ugly plane from the ugly Olympian, said the politician Protheus of Egarnathon.  
- Ugly perhaps, my brother answered him, but watch it fly! Watch it stop dead in the air or land and take off vertically! That's the beauty of the Helicopter.  
- I'm only hearing the noise, and watching that big propeller on top of it. It'll create havoc with its turbulence, Protheus retorted.  
- But I believe in it, someone said. That was the Theban god Ixion. Until then he was mostly known for getting laid by Hera who had used him to get back at Dad for his affair with Othreisa.  
- You want to fly it then? Hephaistos turned to the older god.  
- Yes, certainly!

- Deal! The men shook hands and a couple of days later Ixion was behind the controls of this new kind of flying machine. Before the eyes of almost every immortal in the Ekarantanni area he took off from the little island Itos and drove out over the sea, the sun reflecting off the red, insect-like vessel. People were cheering and applauding and I was looking proudly at my little brother and then at Hera who was standing behind her son, smiling.

Of course dad hadn't been that found of Ixion bedding his wife and now he got back on the Theban in a most childish way, by tampering with the winds over the sea, causing Hephaistos' helicopter to loose height rapidly and then being thrown into the mountain Ossa, exploding in a ball of fire. It was just pure luck that no-one got harmed.  
- Farting Chaos! I heard my cousin Persephone exclaim somewhere behind me, and Demeter lecturing her to mind her language. Hephaistos was looking with terror in his eyes at his lost flying machine.  
- My... Bumblebee... He was actually teary-eyed. And I was in consternation. How could any of these things have happened?  
- I told you so, I could hear Protheus of Egarnathon behind me, and some other immortals laughing. But Hera knew exactly what had happened.  
- Zeus! she raged and then went over to the place where dad sat together with Zephyros, Iris, Helios, Leto and a few others.

Meanwhile a group had gone to Ossa to see how poor Ixion was doing, and after a while Apollon returned with the Theban pilot. The latter was injured of course and Apollon was healing his burns. But it was the chock that was the real problem.  
- Burning wheels! Ixion was babbling. I was tied to that burning wheel, spinning aimlessly through heaven.  
- What is he raving about? Eleithya asked.  
- The propeller, no doubt, Hephaistos said. He must have had some vision of it caching fire - or perhaps a solar reflex before it crashed. Can you heal him, Ollie? I'd hate to be responsible for that man loosing his mind.  
- He's soon going to be OK again, our older brother assured us. Apollon had put down Ixion on a bench, folding up his own toga as a pillow for his patient. My brother was almost naked, wearing only a kilt, and I could see some younger goddesses giving him looks. One of them, Melia, would go longer than just looks, but that's another story.

- You insult my brother you eat my knuckles, Protheus, I could hear Ares growl over the general hubbub, but I hardly looked around. My little brother had styled himself "The Champion of Olympos" and he thought taking to the fists was the general reply to every insult to his kins.

- Now what, Heph? Eleithya asked her brother.  
- I'll have another helicopter made of course. This event is not going to stop me. On the contrary!  
- Even Athena started off crashing, Phaeton pointed out. I guess it's mandatory, like an initiation rite.  
- You got such a hang-up on rites, Phaeton, Astraea said. Why is that?  
- I do? Phaeton rose an eye-brow at my sister.  
- I guess it's because he spend so much time among the mortals, Eleithya commented.  
- That's because they're so much more interesting than gods, Phaeton said and was met with several humphs.

- How are you going to get someone flying these things again. After this I mean? Aphrodite was asking Hephaistos meanwhile.  
- I'll fly them myself if no-one else will.  
- You really dare that? Aphrodite again.  
- Certainly! Hephaistos met the looks of Aphrodite, probably noting the flash of admiration in Aphrodite's lavender eyes. Some freak winds are not going to stop me. Or the helicopter.

I was so proud of my brother when hearing those words. A couple of gods could still be heard mocking the helicopter, but Heph didn't care the slightest. Most people were leaving now and I heard Hera and Zeus fighting over the incident.

Ixion was starting to come around again, telling Apollon that he didn't remember what had happened between loosing control of the vehicle and waking up here among "all these Olympians" - meaning Hephaistos, Apollon, Phaeton, Aphrodite, Eleithya, Astraea, Hermes and me who were standing around him. Ixion's employer Xurasa and her friends Doradala and Freya had also arrived as well as the mandatory bunch of curious people. Apollon lost his temper and shooed us all away:

- Show is over! Now get the chaos out of here, let this youngster heal in peace!

The very next day Hephaistos was back at the drawing board, working on making the helicopter better fit for "freak winds". And while Ixion got well again I had a go at dad for spoiling his son's big event. Hephaistos did some more flying, this time with himself behind the steering stick, and not crashing a single time. Then, one evening, he invited me to discuss a manufacturing line for helicopters in the aeroplane plant. Helicopters for rescuing events and flying to and from places where aeroplanes were unfit. Like landing on Olympos.

I told him that I was planning on starting another plant, this time outside Alfapolis in Attica.  
- That's where we going to build our helicopters, Heph. It will be a boast for Alfapolis too.  
- Great! Hephaistos answered and we toasted to that in nectar in lack of other beverages.  
- Athena by the way, Hephaistos said. My brother had picked something up from his desk.  
- Yes?  
- Wish me luck tonight, I'm going serious with the woman I love.

- Oh, have I missed something?  
- Nah, I haven't really told anyone. And we've been discrete.  
- Who is she?  
- Aphrodite. I know what you're thinking, Athi, but she cares about me. She's the most wonderful person I've ever met, and she cares about me.  
- She said that? That she cared?  
- Yes.  
- She said "I care"? Not "I love you"?  
- I can make her change that. With my secret weapon I can. Then I'm not referring to my "thing". This is a special gift I made. Because I'm not going to loose this battle.  
- Hephaistos! You really mean that?

- Yes, I love her. I'm going to give her this. Hephaistos showed me a golden, gem studded rose. It was one of the most marvellous works I've ever seen. Delicate and beautiful, it looked real and alive even though it was shining with gold, and the large diamond on the leaf looked just like a drop of dew.  
- I'm going to ask her to marry me, my little brother went on.  
- Good luck, honey! I went over and gave him a big hug.

Most of the bets were on a "no" from Aphrodite when Hephaistos proposed. None of us really knew anything more than that neither Aphrodite nor Hephaistos had been seen around very much after the event with the crashed helicopter. Still no-one had actually suspected that they had been spending time together. Most of us had presumed that Heph had been working and no-one had really bothered with Aphrodite being absent.  
- I though she had a boy downtown, Sakura said. Like this Boreas of Sarention.

Aphrodite said "yes" nevertheless. I guess she was both surprised and flattered that someone was actually proposing instead of just expecting her to come to his bed. So later that year we had a wedding at Olympos. These events were rarer than one might think, showing mostly that we immortals don't really believe in "happily ever after". Seeing dad and Hera's ups and downs might discourage the most love-sick little deity.

But the newly-wed looked happy enough when they took off on their honey-moon - in a helicopter of course. And we were cheering and throwing rice and confetti after the vehicle.

¤-¤-¤

Hephaistos also had a passion for practical jokes. I remember when he made the Crazy Chair. It looked just like an ordinary iron chair of a kind that had been in vogue back then. But if someone sat down, he or she got stuck. Hera of all people became the Crazy Chair's first (and probably last) victim. She seated herself, cup of wine in her hand and busy talking to dad who was sitting in a normal chair next to the Crazy Chair. No-one seemed to notice anything peculiar until Hera tried to rise. She was stuck! And became quite frustrated, trying to free herself while we all went from surprised to giggling. Heph was collapsing with laughter in a corner, and Hermes, who was the first one to understand who the mastermind behind the Crazy Chair was, couldn't help telling upon him.

Now Hera was really mad, asking Heph to come over and free her, but he was laughing so hard that he couldn't even stand up. Even dad was laughing. Anyone else would probably have used brute force to just wreck the Crazy Chair. The problem was that my stepmum was wearing a designer dress from Aramakis. Handmade, signed and dedicated especially to her. Only one such item existing. Hera did definitely not want to ruin it, so she didn't dare to use force. So while I was busy drying tears of laughter from my eyes Hermes and Eleithya managed to have their younger brother standing up and come over to free his mum.

After a while Hera found it rather fun too. Bud she did get back on her son, poured some neon pink hair colouring essence into his shampoo. The best of all was that blond Aphrodite used that same shampoo before realising what was in it. Hephaistos and his wife ended up nicked "The pink couple" for quite some time, a nickname lasting longer than the actual hair colour.

At the same time things had started to happen in my Attic settlement. My second aeroplane factory in Alfapolis was attracting both engineers and blue-collar workers.


	8. Poseidon's plot

**Poseidon's plot**

_Author's note__ about some of the characters  
__¤ The goddess Akiko is my own invention_

The aeroplane plant seemed to be the trigger that finally boosted my creation Alfapolis into becoming a real town. Earlier it had just been a minor settlement refusing to grove. Those who came to Alfapolis were mostly hothead pioneers and people who had gotten in trouble elsewhere and wanted to start over again in this new town, but without bothering to drop their earlier erroneous behaviour. Alfapolis had become a town of bar-fights, weird housing, yet weirder businesses and family constellations, a lot of illegal manoeuvring, and even outright crime.

Naturally I had been sad and disappointed. I feared that my big dream was dying. That Alfapolis was becoming a failure in spite of this big cross of energy-lines I had believed so hard in. Maybe I had been wrong about these crosses. Maybe Alfapolis was to become nothing, just because there were really nothing there to benefit from. Maybe these Attic gods had been right all the time - that the South wasn't anything worth investing time or money in.

What has been labelled "Athena's Experiment" had even started to attract ridiculers. All kind of people had been picking on me lately about Alfapolis. And it had hurt! Medusa of Aswee had been going:  
- Hey, Aeroplane-girl! What makes you think you can build cities? Can't you see that your Alfapolis is going completely Netka?  
- If she hadn't been Zeus's daughter she wouldn't be allowed to continue this waste of money, had been the words from Tyche of Antiocheia.  
- It has nothing to do with my father, I had tried in vain, but no-one had been listening.

Then Ironbird Inc opened up its second plant. The air industry was still brand new and hi-tech. Front line research! Trendy business. The thing to do for young mortals with dreams of success and big money. With all these people looking for jobs came more industries, more businesses of different kinds as well as renewed interest from other parts of the Union. And not least brand new money - not in the shape of settler loans or governmental money, but real money from businesses making profit. In less than a decade Alfapolis went from not to hot.

All would be well then, you think? Wrong! Because with success came competition, and it came from an unexpected corner of my life. I wasn't surpriced when some of my sisters and brothers took advantage of Alfapolis. My business partner Hephaistos of course, but also Hermes, Sakura, Irdonan and Astraea were investing time and money in various parts of this new, growing region. Also Eos and Sakura's little sister Akiko were seen around as well as Heph's pal Arelis. Then one day in Summer Month of 88 my ever faithful Nike alerted me on the fact that Aganthanon had been approached by Poseidon.  
- They're plotting behind your back regarding Alfapolis, Athi!

I confronted Aganthanon by entering unannounced into his spacious and expensive-looking office in downtown Alfapolis. The room was designed to be impressing, but having seen the work places some of my family members kept Aganthanon's design fell short. I just strode over those expensive carpets and sat myself in a visitor's chair opposite of Agy's desk. After the mandatory exchanges of politeness I told him squarely that I wanted to know what his talks with Poseidon were all about.

- Nothing really, the Alfapolis Mayor-immortal shrugged.  
- "Nothing really"! Give me a break, Agy! Are you seriously thinking I believe all your meetings with the sea-god has been about "Nothing really"?  
- We're buddies, Athena. We talk about sports and music and...

Athena! Not Athi anymore, I thought. So much for being personal with this god. I didn't push that angle though, I just told him I wanted the truth.  
- Nike has been bullshitting you? were Aganthanon's words.  
- She warned me, yes. What does Poseidon want with Alfapolis that he can't see me about?  
- He wants nothing with A-pol. I've already told you...  
- We 're not getting anywhere. I rose from my chair opposite Aganthanon's cluttered desk, looking the Attic god firmly in his clewer, dark-brown eyes beneath that too long fringe, telling him:  
- I am going to watch you from now on. And Poseidon. Because I don't trust that man.

- Are you not trusting me? Aganthanon asked.  
- I want to. I really want to! Honestly! But Poseidon is of the sneaky kind. When you don't want to tell what he's up to I have real trouble with my confidence in you, Aganthanon, you must understand that.  
- Athena! We used to be lovers, please...  
- Has-been lovers matters little to me if I'm getting screwed by you and Poseidon.  
- I'm not going to...  
- I'm just warning you, Aganthanon.

With those words I left the Mayor-immortal's office and walked out in the heat of the day. I took off in the air before being spotted by any mortal, I wasn't in the mood for talking to or helping any at the moment. I was worried. Really worried. Aganthanon's aura had been reeking with his lying and I had never trusted Poseidon in my entire life. He was always plotting for more power, mostly against people like Helios and Demeter, but also against Hera, even if he didn't dare to plot against dad. But what about me? What about this flourishing region? Was he out to get Alfapolis with the help of my ex-boyfriend?

I stopped in mid-air for a while, took in the sight of A-pol, as it was being nicked these days. I was so proud of this achievement of mine. It was located right upon that energy-line cross, in a lush valley between high, snow-capped mountains, and with the ocean as a back-drop shimmering in the hot air. Mostly built in white, circular and surrounded by canals it looked like a shining pearl in a clam shell. A creation of beauty and style. A fashionable, modern town with peak industries and a young, growing population. My creation! My gem-stone! No-one was going to take that away from me. If Poseidon was trying he would have to watch his back for Athena! With these thoughts I went home to Olympos. I figured I needed to talk to dad.

¤-¤-¤

There's a steady stream of visitors to the Olympos when the Nexus is in session. Gods and goddesses wanting all kinds of things, from knowledge to bartering. This evening I ran into Medusa of Aswee. Ran into - well almost literally to be true! What was she doing here?  
- Oups! Aeroplane-girl! she said and held up her hands when I nearly collided with her in the entrance hall to the Major Building.  
- Lady of Aswee, I said with icy voice. I hadn't forgotten her for picking me about Alfapolis. What strange winds bring you to Olympos? Here to see the Chair Lady?  
- No, not really. There's little your sister can do for me. In fact I'm visiting Poseidon.

- You're lucky tonight then. He's around.  
- I know. The radical delegate passed by me and started up the left staircase. She was expensively dressed in a flowing red designer's gown, and rather good looking, but what ruined Medusa's appearance was her hair. I have never really liked dreads. Especially not the way Medusa wore them, thick and hard-sprayed until they were shining. Looked like snakes in my not so humble opinion! I imagined them wringing around and hissing while Medusa took the stairs in two steps at a time, over-confident as she owned them. Yuck!

If I had been twenty years younger I know that I had made her trip over and fall backwards or something. Especially if there had been other people around to see her. But I considered myself just a tiny bit more mature these days, hoping that I would be able to nail her in a bit more nifty way one day.

Dad was working late that night. So it was another impressive office, another casual visit, but this felt quite different from the one earlier in the day. When entering dad's workplace I heard the sound of his typewriter rattling like a machine-gun. I went in and sat down by his desk in front of him, watching him as he was typing away, caught up in creative trance. His blond curls were tied up in a casual knot, his brows were wrinkled with thought and concentration and his bearded cheeks were clamped shut.

I knew he had noticed me even if he didn't even cast me a glance before he was ready and ripped the last piece of blue paper out of the 'writer. He put it on top of a heap of similar blues (blue dealing with transport and communication, that I knew), stamped his stately seal upon it and wrote his signature below.  
- There! he said more to himself than to me. Hope this will be the last thing said about these faithforsaken ferries. Then, with one swift and gracious half-levitating leap, he jumped over the desk and across the room to the sound system. He removed the silent vinyl disc from the player and traded it for another one and the room was filled with ambient, blip-bloping tunes that seemed to enter one ear and exit the other without really sticking somewhere between. The kind of music dad preferred while working.

- So, Titi-beloved, why this worried face? dad asked as he sat down in front of me and took my hands. I met those kind, blue eyes people said were so similar to mine, and told him about my worries about Alfapolis being stolen away from me.  
- So you think Poseidon is behind this? With the help of your ex-lover Aganthanon?  
- Yes, I'm afraid so.  
- Don't be afraid, Starchild, I'll look into it. If it turns out that Poseidon is out to get Alfapolis he'll have to do it the hard way.

- What do you mean?  
- He's going to have to become the mortal's choice of a favoured god. And you're way ahead of him in that race. If you just use that brilliant brain of yours and dedicate a lot of your time to Alfapolis you're going to keep it. Have young Hephaistos deal with aeroplanes, film cameras and these researches in the meantime.

- So you're not going to help me against Poseidon?  
- No.  
- Why?  
- Because you don't need my help. You can manage this well enough without your old dad. What I'll do is ask Seidy frankly if he's after Alfapolis. If he says he is or lies while saying he's not I'm going to give him the advise to stay away from your city. Then you'll learn of my findings and you'll have to deal with them the way I know you can.

- But dad...  
- Cut the "Buts", Titi! You're not a little girl anymore. Go out and show Poseidon and the world that no-one is going to take anything away from you without your consent! The next thing dad did was giving me a hug and ruffling my hair just as if I was his little girl again. Quite a contradiction! But I knew what he meant. He's Zeus, the Divine King, and he couldn't take a stand in a matter like this. He couldn't show that he favoured his daughter over any other god working to get a favoured status in a certain area. And the growing Alfapolis was an interesting place. I had to show that I wasn't letting it go at any matters. That I was ready to defend what was mine.

¤-¤-¤

- Come on guys and gals, you've just gotta see this, Hephaistos said, urging us all to follow him.  
- Now what? Apollon was saying, looking up from the piano keyboard. Has he built a computer that can ferment nectar while it sings the Union Anthem?  
- No I guess it's a chainsaw that can double as an alarm clock, his twin answered.

It was none of these things. It was nothing fancy at all to be true, just a kind of net. But it was the game Hephaistos had caught in it that was interesting. Ares. In bed with Aphrodite. In Hephaistos' and her bedroom. The miserable look upon their faces when all of us came tumbling through that door was definitely the thrill of the week. Not to mention when Auroanos flashed off a photo right in their faces. Ares was red with rage but when Aphrie had regained her composure she was more like giggling, like she thought all this just one big practical joke.  
- Heph, your Titan! I'll have your ass for this, his older brother was raging.

- Well, it's my wife. And it's my bed and what I build into it is my business, Hephaistos answered back. If you're such a moron that you bed my wife, you deal with me!  
- I wouldn't mind trading place with you, Ares, Hermes was saying.  
- Me neither, Irdonan chimed in.  
- I bet Aphrie wouldn't mind that either Auroanos laughed. She wouldn't mind both of you at the same time.  
- How about you, Auro? Apollon asked.  
- Count me in too! Phaeton rose a freckled hand.  
- You wait in the line, kid! Hermes teased.  
- Now you shut up! All of you! Hephaistos spat. He was almost as pissed as Ares. And leave my wife out of this.  
- How can we possibly, she's entangled in there, Poseidon said.

Artemis, Sakura and I just looked at each other, made some faces and shook our heads and then we left. Men! But I believe Aphrodite became a lot more discreet after this moment. At least when she was sleeping around with her brothers in law.

¤-¤-¤

My fears turned out to be true. Less than a weak later Poseidon appeared in Alfapolis, challenging me as a favoured deity in the town. He let the mortals know that he also held the status of an Olympian and that he was way older and more experienced than I. That he held greater power. Being the god of the sea he controlled the harbours and sea-traffic and was able to give a town like Alfapolis benefits that would boast it way beyond anything I could do.

So now what?

I went to work as soon as the sea-god caught his breath, not letting his promises sink into peoples minds. I told them about the air industries, about the car industries and the hi-tech business that has turned Alfapolis and Attica into one of the most interesting regions in this part of the world. I reminded them that this was all my doing. Mine with the help of deities like Hephaistos, Hermes, Nike and Arelis. I also mentioned all help I had got from Aganthanon, and thus locking the Mayor-immortal into a corner, making it impossible for him to desert me without loosing his face. I would deal with him later, I promised myself.

I used Hera's tricks, gathering my allies around me in words and deed, showing Poseidon an united front the way Hera once had gathered her allies Neyta, Cheiron and Argus against the god Deiyan. Poseidon did the same, using his wife Amphitrite, Aganthanon's mother Obina and a amphibian god named Angmardon as frontiers against my group.

Zeus was watching our manoeuvrings against each other for a while before involving himself:  
- Let the mortals decide. Alfapolis can have one or several deities. Nor Athena neither Poseidon is getting thrown out. But the favoured status will be given to the deity chosen by the mortals. Both of you have presented amazing gifts to Alfapolis, Poseidon's harbour town as well as Athena's hi-tech area. Let the mortals of Alfapolis cast their votes!

- How about the residing immortals? Poseidon said, hinting at Aganthanon, knowing that the Mayor-immortal really wanted him.  
- The honourable Aganthanon of Attica has already made his stand, I answered Poseidon. He's my man. I placed him in the Mayor-immortal's office. Then he built Alfapolis together with me. He wouldn't want to give that position up to Obina or to any of your amphibians.

The sea-god was rather taken aback by my words. So was Aganthanon, who really had wanted to follow Poseidon. He had no chance in a Chaos to abandon me now. Because then he would be regarded as a wobbling wheeler-dealer who deserted his benefactor, and that was nothing any god in the Union wanted. Thus Aganthanon remained silent when Zeus stated that selecting a favoured deity was really a mortal business since the deities were there for them, not for other gods.

A lot of gods arrived to the battling ground when the voting preparations were going to start. Some of them to watch over their own interests, but most came here just out of pure curiosity. It wasn't every day two major deities - two Olympians - were challenging each other over a hot region.

Most gods stayed on neutral ground, watching the events unfold from their temples and shrines - a large group gathering on the hill named Acropolis. Others were taking side and letting the world know. Like Sakura, who had been staying in my A-pol home for the last two weeks. And Chair Lady Artemis, who went up to me and hugged me in front of the whole world.  
- Good luck! And I bring discomforting news from up home.

- What kind of news?  
- I'll tell you when we get to your place. It has to do with dad being moody.  
- I thought it had to do with this event, and me fighting with his old Warbrother over A-pol.  
- Nope.  
- Then let's go home. Kuri, Auro, Hermy and Heph's there, they'll want to hear you too. No one has been at Olympos since these events started to unfold.


	9. Athens

**Athens**

- So Hera left again? Sakura sighed after hearing Artemis dropping her bomb. She is getting repetitive, this stepmother of ours.  
- But Taygeta! Artemis shook her dark head. She's Hera's employee for faiths sake. Her secretary!  
- Poor mum, Hephaistos said and toyed with his fork. Why can't dad... Sorry, Hermes, but dads idea of a marriage isn't exactly a mainstream opinion. He's hurting mum with all these affairs. I want this to end!

We were sitting in my dining room, having finished a light but delicate supper. Dusk was falling outside and the room was in twilight, a gentle, warm candle-light atmosphere. The six of us - Artemis, Sakura, Hephaistos, Hermes, Auroanos and I - didn't really know how to deal with this information and looked at each other for courage and support.

- Where's Hera now? I asked.  
- I don't know, Artemis admitted. I was with dad when Iris mindcalled him, told him the news. He was angered of course, demanding to know every piece of information Iris had. But she didn't know more than that Hera had found out about Taygeta's pregnancy the night before and packed her bags the same evening.  
- What... Chaos! Mama... Hephaistos staggered. She probably thought that with Alatheia being 16 there was no need for mama to stay around anymore.  
- I guess she went back to Argos, Auroanos said, streching his tall body, the chair beneath him creaking.  
- Going back to the home of her 20:ies... She'll loose all credibility. Hephaistos sounded really sad and upset.  
- What do you think she believes she's loosing with staying with a man who cheats upon her all the time? Artemis returned.

- I'll try to find her. Hermes rose, putting his hands firmly on the table. Someone has to talk to her. Reason with her.  
- Asking her to come back, you mean? Artemis wanted to know. I think that's too late now. And what good would it do? Dad wouldn't behave any better if she...

- Please, I begged, can't we drop the subject now? I have my nerves on the outside of my body over the Alfapolis vote. Hera's broken heart can't be mended by us six. Hermes, you go after her if you want! I'm going downtown. Undercover. I want to feel what's in the air, see if I'm loosing this town or not.  
- I'm coming with you! both my sisters stated but Hephaistos said he was going to bed. Auroanos wanted to return to Olympos to see how young Alatheia was faring and also have a word with Astraea, Eleithya and Ares. I understood that. All of Hera's children must be really upset tonight.

¤-¤-¤

The Alfapolis night was a buzz indeed. A lot of people out, walking down the streets or hanging in the bars. Of course it wasn't all about me and Poseidon. In fact most mortals seemed preoccupied with a wide-spanned miscellany of other things, ranging from ball games to trendy car models. Not to mention all kind of private issues, no less complicated than what we had discussed earlier in the evening. Nevertheless we did some asking around, Artemis, Sakura and I - and got a sort of fifty-fifty poll.

- Poseidon's my man, a tall, white-haired mortal said and rose his glass. He's the sailors choice and I'm from a sailor family. I'm saluting the sea-god any day.  
- Nah! No Way! answered a dark-skinned youngster. Poseidon is from the past. Athena is for the future. She's giving us new things. She gave us electric trains, motion pictures and aeroplanes. With 'planes we won't need your boats, old skipper! Go Athena!  
- Yeah! Go Athena, answered his company, a pregnant woman with braided red hair. I'm doing radio. Wouldn't have a job without her!  
- Hold it right there, another woman was saying staring at the pregnant redhead. Vote for Athena and Poseidon might as well sink our fleet and flood this whole area. I think we should play it safe here and...  
- Zeus's daughter will surely save us if Poseidon starts playing foul, the dark-skinned man said.

I hadn't given that risk a thought. Could Poseidon really do such a thing? Certainly he was able to do it, an earthquake at the right place would create a tsunami large enough for flooding the whole Alfa valley.  
- Would he do that - and blow all his credibility? I asked my sisters.  
- Yeah, certainly, Artemis answered.  
- No way! Sakura disagreed.  
- Kuri, Athi, that man has a terrible temper, you must know that. He's even worse than dad. And you, Athi, has been a pain in his tail fin for decades.  
- Tail fin! You sure have a way with words, Mimi! Sakura laughed.  
- So what do I do if Poseidon threatens to flood the Alfa valley?

- He has not made that threat yet, Athi. And the vote is tomorrow. Deal with it when it comes, my older sister adviced. If Poseidon threatens to do something like that I'll bring it up in the Hyperpantheon faster than the old uncle can reach for his trident. Then we'll see if he is so cocky when all the elected gods of the Union are watching him. He'll loose his credibility as you said, Athi. But before that happens he might cause a lot of damage to this area.  
- But why would he risk his cred? Sakura asked.  
- Because Seidy is the kind of man who often acts first and thinks later, Artemis answered.

¤-¤-¤

The day for the election started off overcast with a light rain falling from the sky. Then the clouds cracked up around midday and the sun came out. I was sitting in my garden feeling idle and tense. This was perhaps the longest day in my life, not counting some New Years Eves when I was a kid and waited for the presents. I tried to play board game with Hephaistos, but did silly mistakes because my mind was elsewhere and I mindcalled Eos who said it was miserable up at Olympos with Hera away and Zeus in a bad mood.

Aphrodite showed up at dinnertime, wanted to be with her husband, and she and Hephaistos went downtown for a dinner for two. I jumped in the pool, swam round and round until Sakura came out and told me to stop, because her head was spinning.  
- You can't change anything now anyhow, she said. Let's go downtown, Athi! Don't you want to be around when the result comes in?  
- Yeah - I guess... I got up, dried myself and dressed. Casual elegance so I could drop my disguise and show myself if the vote had gone my way.

Sakura and I ended up waiting at Central Plaza, the large square in front of the Central Station. There were crowds and crowds of people and a big screen had been mounted on the building opposite of the railway station. Apparently that one was to show the outcome of the vote later in the evening. It was still blank, but excited Alfapolites were waiting beneath it, counting down the beats to the announcement that was due in a little bit more than an hour. Vendors were selling foods from stands and there were reporters everywhere. I also spotted more incognito immortals than I had ever seen before. Most of the Union Hyperpantheon delegates were around as well as other important deities.

Nike, Irdonan, Akiko, Aeolus, Arelis and Auroanos found us and came up and stood beside us. Silent support from their eyes. I returned their looks, smiled. Later on Hera's friends Neyta and Argus arrived together with Hermes' mother Maia and Nike's brother Nardalon. The clock was nearing 20 hours - time for the results, and the excitement was starting to rise. Then suddenly a roar filled the square. I turned around. It was Poseidon, standing on top of the Station building, radiating with confidence. He held his trident high up in the sky, and flanking him was a well-known person. Aganthanon. The Mayor-immortal.

- Chaos, I heard Irdonan mumble. This doesn't look good.  
- It's only the way it looks, Neyta answered my brother. Relax, Olympian. Poseidon's only playing power games. At least he's better than Athena at that. You should go up there too, daughter of Zeus! Don't wait for him to declare himself winner before the race is over.  
- The winner is going to be presented on the screen, Maia said dryly. Let sea-god stand upon that gothic roof and look dumb when they tell that he lost it. Then you go up on top of the screen, Athena! Show them that you believed all the time that the town was going to remain in your hands. I hope you have prepared a good speech for this event.  
- You bet I have, I lied. I looked at the man with the trident. I didn't even have an attribute like that. Nothing to show off with, just myself and my strong voice. On the other hand if I won - did such things really matter?

Poseidon's followers had been chanting his name now for quite some time, but other people had taking up calling out my name and they were starting to sound like they were more. Then all went quiet when the screen suddenly flickered alive. A man appeared on the screen - the mortal Mayor - Takanadoras Isyailas.  
- Great Divine King Zeus, he started. Noble Immortals, Ladies and Gentlemen of Alfapolis - pearl of Attica - I have an announcement to make in this early evening hour. We Alfapolites have voted here on this beautyful day to select a favoured deity in this great town we're calling our home and are all so proud of. We have voted between Athena, the honourable daughter of Great Zeus and Poseidon, the mighty god of the sea and the waves.  
- Get to the point, Auroanos mumbled.

I turned my head slightly, took a glance at the man on top of the Central Station. Poseidon still hell his trident high, looking confident. Then he spotted me, and when I felt him seeing me I noted that his aura shivered just a bit, showing some insecurity.  
- And the deity we have selected here today, Takanadoras Isyailas went on - is a deity who have given this region so much. A deity who has waken Attica from it's slumber, it's lull, rural backwaters and rocketed her into the future. The deity - the goddess who is to be the most favoured one is no one less than our beloved Great Athena.

Sakura was screaming behind me and I held my hands to my blushing cheeks. The rest of Takanadoras Isyailas' speech was drowned in the outcries of the Alfapolites. Some with rage but most with joy while the historical figures were showed on the screen. I had won over Poseidon with 62 against his 36 and 2 undecided or blanks. (Some people had put dads name on their ballots. Or Aganthanon's. Jerks!)  
- Get the Chaos up there, Athena, Maia urged me, pushing me in the back. I looked back at her, smiling.  
- Can't wait!

Just as I was going to cast my disguise and take into the air, an incognito god came pushing through the crowd and up to me. First I didn't recognise him, but then I remembered whom those gigantic dark and muscular features belonged to. Orion, Attica's former Hyperpantheon delegate.  
- Here, take this, he said to me. Athena, it's the Spear of Attica. It truly belongs to you!  
- Thanks, Orion! Wait for me! I said.

The next moment I was up on top of the building that carried the screen. People were calling out my name but quieted down when I held the spear up in the air, showed with my whole aura that I wanted to speak. Poseidon was gone from the opposite roof, I noted with a part of my mind.  
- People of Alfapolis! I started. I thank you for your confidence in me on this memorable day. I'm going to prove myself worthy of it. I am going to prove myself worthy of this town Alfapolis. This - I promise you - is only the beginning of its glory. People of Alfapolis, I am Athena of Olympos and I salute you.

With those words I ended my speech and rose my spear again and the crowd went even wilder this time. Their collective energy became a great whirling wind of soulpower carrying me to glories I had never experienced before, charging me with energies of the likes I hadn't thought I could absorb until now. It had me throw back my head and hold the Spear of Attica upright and high. Then I did something I had never done before. I channelled all that energy into a mighty lightning that rushed through my body and the spear and up in the sky until it connected with some of the leftover clouds from the morning rains. When the electrons travelled trough my body I felt the hair rise on my head and my chi sparkle.

- Athena! Athena! Athena! people down in the square were screaming and "Zeus's daughter!", "Zeus's daughter!". They had seen the lightning and connected it to dad of course. He would be proud, but some of my sisters and brothers would probably make fun of my "Showing off attack" at the rooftop. I hid myself, sat down and rested and soon my kins and friends found me and were full of congratulations and praising exclamations.  
- Where's Poseidon? was the first thing I asked after all these words of affection. And where's Mayor-Immortal Aganthanon?  
- Who cares? Sakura snorted.  
- I care! I told my little sister. I want to know what the sea-god is up to. If he'll be the kind of bad looser Artemis feared. Or if he's going to accept his defeat.  
- If he's honourable he'll come to shake hands with you, Irdonan said.  
- But he's not, Sakura stated.

- I'll go find him, Orion offered. He had been standing a bit behind until now, watching the others. Poseidon don't know that I'm coming from you, Athena. In fact I stayed neutral through this whole business since I had no idea what was really going on. I came home to Attica as late as yesterday.  
- I'll go talking to Aganthanon, Nike said.  
- Great! I love you! And then come right home to me here in Alfapolis! We're sure going to celebrate our butts off tonight!

There was a large crowd of people waiting down in the street and I ended up signing so many autographs that I almost became late for my own party. I put my name on papers, on bus-tickets, on commercial leaflets and on paper bags and whatever was given to me. I even wrote my name on one mans bare arm. At that moment one of his friends said:  
- Bet Anaxamachos ain't gonna wash that arm for weeks.  
- Go see a tattoo-shop instead, I told Anaxamachos. I'd like to know if he took my advise but I never saw him again.

When I got home most of my kins and friends were there with food and wine and hugs and speeches. Even more people arrived later. Dad was almost teary-eyed when he hugged me hard.  
- I'm so proud of you Titi! Chaos, I'm so really really proud of you tonight.  
- But are you surprised?  
- No, I said I knew you could do it if you really put your heart in it. And you did! Titilove you did! You have made it. This town is truly yours now.

- There's one thing still bothering me, I said, looking steadily at my father.  
- Poseidon? He's not going to...  
- Not Poseidon. Not Aganthanon either. My theory. About the energy crosses. I still don't know if it's working as I thought or if it was the aeroplane plants and the hi-tech industries that really boosted Alfapolis.  
- Does it really matter?  
- I guess not. Until I want to found another town that is. And that might take a while.

¤-¤-¤

I didn't get much sleep that night and the next day was full of everything too. Aganthanon did come up and took my hand, said he was sorry and that he had never meant to walk out on me.  
- I got used by Poseidon. He promised me all this and that and I was tempted when I really should have stayed with you, Athena. I hope we can...  
- That's fine, Aganthanon. I'll see if I still can put my trust in you as a Mayor-Immortal. I haven't decided that yet. Where is Poseidon? I have still to receive his congratulations.  
- I guess he's beneath the waves. Tending his wounds.  
- His wounds? Bad looser, that's what he is. You're to remain in office until I have made up my mind about you, Agy. Till then - do your best, and I might forget that you abandoned me.

I met with Orion and Takanadoras Isyailas and a lot of other people, both mortals and immortals, and I informed Nike that she might have to take over the Mayor-Immortal position.  
- Later there's something else that you might be needed for, my friend. There are talks going on about moving the Attic residence from Atticapolis down here to A-pol. Nothing's decided yet and Pancleia and Obina are holding back. But Sedirios wants to move and I guess most of the mortals want it too. So you might become a Governor-Immortal instead.  
- Like Minos on Crete?  
- Something similar, yes. But nothing's for certain.  
- And Sakura? Isn't she out to get a position?  
- She's more eager to get control of the new academy.

In the early evening I got a unexpected visitor. I had just finished my supper - alone for the first time in weeks, and was preparing to catch up on some reading when my nymph-attendant told me I had a guest waiting down in the large livingroom. It was my poor dear stepmother.

I sat down in front of Hera who was looking out over my city, where the lights of the night were lighting up one after another.  
- So how's Zeus? she asked after some initial chit-chat.  
- Lonely, I said.  
- So he's not having a ball with Kallirhoe, Taygeta or Ananke now with me gone?  
- Come on! He's over them since forever. I mean, Ananke is a mortal. Go home to him, Hera! He needs you.

- I can't! Hera was saying, blinking hard to get rid of the moist in her eyes. A tear escaped and travelled down her pale cheek, glittering in the dimmed lamp light. I can't stand this eternal womanising of his. I can't stand being cheated upon and fooled all the time. I can't stand the thought of him running off with my friends and my colleges, not to mention my political adversaries. Or the thought of people laughing behind my back and wondering what it is I can't give him that he must go to others and find. Like I have ever refused him! Athena, you have done a good thing not getting married. Don't ever do that mistake!  
- So you're divorcing dad? I gave Hera a paper napkin but she didn't bother with drying off the tears that had followed the first one.

- I guess so. I have the form here, but I can't get myself to fill it in. I guess I still love him in spite of everything. Or, at least, I loved the man he used to be.  
- What do you mean "used to be"? He cheated on mum too. And on Themis, his first wife. You know that. You know about Leto and Eurynome.  
- Yes, not to mention myself. He cheated on Themis with me once.  
- He did? Well, you see!

- And Themis left him. Like I should do.  
- Hera, what I mean is: Zeus has never been different. He has been running after women all the time regardless of being married or not. I think it's more like a game to him. He loves the hunt, the excitement of catching them and winning them over. Then he loses interest. Still he can't get over you. And you can't get over him. So please reconsider that divorce thing. You're only going to hurt dad so very very much. And yourself.  
- I'll think of it, Hera said. Can I stay the night? I need company. And I want to hear about your victory here.  
- Of course you can! We hugged and then I got another sleepless night while telling Hera all about these crazy Attic days.

Next day I got another unforgettable surprise. The town council headed by Takanadoras Isyailas made the decision to rename the town in my honour. A lot of people had never really liked the name Alfapolis, which did in fact sound too much like a working name on a drawing board, also too easy to mistake for the capital Atticapolis. So from now on the towns name was Athens.


	10. Set up on the dance floor

**Set up on the dancefloor**

_The god Anaktoron is my own invention__. Kephalos was mostly known for being one in a long row of lovers of Eos, but I guess there were time enough for some fun with Hera too._

- This is Anaktoron of Eleithahar, dad said and indicated the tall, white-robed man standing beside his desk. And these are my daughters Athena, Eleithya and Astraea who have shown interest in learning the art of soul healing. All three of them have taken the basic medicine classes in their youths and on top of that I consider Eleithya being a natural.

The god Anaktoron bowed slightly at us and we nodded back. He was handsome in an exotic way with almost bluish black long hair, light brown skin and the largest, dark eyes there is. Eyes with something surging in them, like a whirlpool – and I couldn't let go. At the same time it felt like he was looking right into the depths of my being, seeing things I really wanted to keep to myself.

Anaktoron turned to dad:  
- Great Zeus, they all have what it takes. I can start the education immediately. First with all three of them to go over the basics. Then I'll work with them individually. But I'll start by interviewing them to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

¤-¤-¤

- You're intrigued by him? Artemis asked. I nodded slightly. I was sitting with my sister in the Nexus' Chair Lady's office, having told her of the interview Anaktoron had held with me. Those deep probing, bordering on intime questions he had asked, and how I felt like I couldn't do anything but answering them.  
- With another guy I'd been irritated and walked out of the room. But not with Anaktoron. It's like he's... Enchanting me. Sometimes I get the feeling he already knows the answers I'm giving him.

Mimi nodded slightly. The next moment she was interrupted by her assistant Eruneos who let her know she had a visitor.  
- Yuck, this is way after working-hours, my sister said and removed her feet from the desk. On the other hand, politics never sleep. Let the person in!

Artemis had hardly finished when Poseidon's old fling Medusa of Aswee stormed through the office doors.  
- Lady Chair Lady, those cursed West-Arcadians are... Athena! Whose life are you out to ruin this time?  
- What do you mean? I looked at Asweean goddess.  
- You know very well what I'm talking about! You didn't like me visiting Poseidon at Olympos, so you had him dumping me!

I couldn't help laughing out loud.  
- Are you completely lost, Medusa? I'm probably the last one Poseidon listens to, after the event with Athens.  
- Athens, Medusa spat. You even had the guts to name that backwater den after yourself.  
- My ladies... Artemis started, but Medusa went on unbothered by my sister.

- You screwed Poseidon by flirting with him so he dumped me, and then you tricked him into giving up Attica, just because I wanted a place there and... But I'll tell you, no-one screws me and gets away with it. No-one, not even you, little Olympian, I'm gonna...  
- Shut up! I don't have to listen to your crazy ramblings, Medusa. I haven't done a crap to you, I'm not even interested in you and your little doings, why should I bother to screw you?  
- Because you're an Olympian, and...

- We're two Olympians here, Artemis said with ice in her voice. If you mess with my sister you're messing with me. And probably with a lot of other people too.  
- If you think you can threaten me with Zeus, you're wrong, because...  
- Oh, come on! You dropped his name, not any of us, I said.  
- Did you want anything, or did you just come here to fuzz? Artemis asked, trying to sound normal.

- I wanted to let you know... Medusa began. I guess it doesn't matter anymore. She turned, whirling her dark red robe, and headed out of the door and Artemis and I just stared at each other and shook our heads.  
- Is she always like that? I asked.  
- No, sometimes she's normal. But you never know. She's smart and clever, but for some reason she believes that people are out to get her. Someone pushing her by accident and she acts like that person was assaulting her. Aclaia of Karmandor told me once that Medusa has gone crazy after too much soul tripping without the necessary precautions.

¤-¤-¤

- Soul healing is a special branch of medicine, Anaktoron started. It deals not with curing bodily faults but those within the soul. Those wounds caused by loss and maltreatment. What you call a broken heart is really a wound in the soul. As well as you can use hands, breath, aura and brain to heal a physical wound you can use these things to heal a wound in the soul. Although this art is harder, because you cannot sense these wounds with your physical abilities. You must feel them using your life-force, your chi.

- Why is that harder? Eleithya asked.  
- Because none of you are used to do these things. Most immortals learn healing early in life and can cure a physical wound just by using intuition. Soul healing is so much more. It takes other skills. Harder training. That's what I'm here to teach you three.

I looked from my sister to our teacher. He was sitting in front of me and the two oldest daughters of Hera in the brightly lit room, sun shining off dark hair and mixing the red of his strong aura into a burning sensation. I felt every word of his hit my inner strings.  
- Where do we start? Astraea asked. She was sitting next to Eleithya, erect and with a notebook in hand. Eleithya though didn't take notes, she was just listening intensely and I felt that she wasn't missing a word of what Anaktoron was saying.  
- We'll start with the three of you. You all have minor scars we can work on. Nothing fatal, just small things which are good to practise on. Then we will move on to mortals. After that...

Astraea and I were waiting outside the class room for Eleithya who was stealing some extra minutes of Anaktoron's time.  
- Athi, I talked with mum yesterday, Astraea said and traced a line in the marble floor with her foot. She's not well.

- What's wrong? I had to admit to myself that I hadn't seen Hera for a good while. She was staying in Helicon and I seldom got the time to go there.  
- You know she has been seeing the Nexus' delegate Kephalos for a while?  
- Eos' old boyfriend?  
- The very one!  
- Not the best of matches. Kephalos's too timid for Hera.  
- Guess she found that out too. Now they're over and mama is so low and sad. She doesn't really know what to do next, how to proceed with her life.

- And she's still married to dad.  
- Yeah, Ea sighed. Because she can't get herself together and fill in the divorce-form and hand it in to the Mayor's office. And Kephalos refuses to be with a woman who can't get over her ex.  
- Do you think - she still loves dad?  
- I... don't know... my sister said and looked over her shoulder to the door Anaktoron had closed upon him and Eleithya before continuing:

- When I ask her about dad she only starts crying. It's like... like she's still in love with him but refuse to admit that to herself. She's so proud and stubborn and full of hurt confidence. Everything Anaktoron told about a depression is there in those beloved eyes. And I wonder who might help her. Athena, can you talk to her?

- I've already done that. The first night after winning Athens she stayed with me and I urged her to go home, but she would not. And dad... He wants her back, I know that. Remember back in 46 when Hera left him over Hermes!  
- The chicken-race, yeah I remember. Dad became the one to cave in and went to get her. Will he do that again? And is it going to work this time? Or is it too late?

- Perhaps a man like Anaktoron can tell, I said. Besides, Hera is not the only one who's low. Look at dad, Ea! He's fretting over nothing, and his temper has even started to affect his work - something he has managed to avoid earlier. But now he's being arrogant and sloppy and when he lost the vote concerning illegal substances he took out his rage on the mortal Speaker of House - Carnelon Ahanandouri. The poor man was terrified, even after Artemis came to his defence.

- I know, Ea nodded. On top of that - if dad had been running after women earlier, it's nothing compared to these last months. Artemis' speech writer Callisto, Freya of Vanahem, Pancleia of Attica, Aclaia of Karmandor, Dione of Cyprus, the Ekarantannian Mayor-Immortal Cassiopeia and Selene of Argospantheon. And Eos and Leto again for Faith's sake! Not to mention a large number of mortals.  
- So what to do? We might as well get opinion about this. Let's talk to some of the others!

When Astraea and I brought up the subject that night we were met with several different views.  
- Forget it, Eleithya said. I really think they both should accept that it's over and get on with their lives. Dad can marry Callisto and mum can forget and redefine herself.

Alatheia disagreed:  
- Dad cares nothing for Callisto. She's mother to Arcas, that's all. I think he should see reason. All those women don't make him happy. Mum does.  
- But even if Dad goes after her she won't come back. Not the second time, Eleithya stated.

I looked at my three sisters who were sharing the large sofa in the corner-lounge. They all looked like variations of a theme. Tall and slender, but with full breasts. More or less dark-brown hair, wavy and voluminous and with Hera's dark, round eyes over dads classic nose and generous lips. None of them as dark as Ares or with that red tint to his hair Auroanos had got from our grandma Rhea. Astraea the brave one, Alatheia the clever one and Eleithya the caring one.

Now they were arguing over their parents while Ares was sitting in an armchair pretending to read a magazine and Hephaistos was sipping on his coffee. He had taken a liking of this new, American beverage that had found itself to Union ports with the addition of Atlantis to the commonwealth.

- I have an idea, Hermes was suddenly saying. I feel I owe them since I was the reason for their first break-up. Athena, you're going to celebrate that one-year jubilee of Athens, aren't you?  
- Yeah, sure, but...  
- Let's make sure both Hera and dad go there. So they'll have to confront each other.

- I'm not so sure that's going to work, Auroanos said. He was sitting opposite of Ares next to Apollon.  
- Why? Hermes asked impatient.  
- They're just going to do everything to avoid each other.

- We'll only have to trick them into ending up face to face then, Apollon said.  
- How? Eleithya asked.  
- I have thought of that too, Maia's son said. Now listen...

¤-¤-¤

The Athens 1 year celebration took place in my Attic home, jam packed with immortals from all over the Union. Manoeuvring dad together with Hera seemed like hitting the bulls-eye from a kilometre or something. So Artemis the archer was given the task. Her twin had an important role too. "Their song" was one of these lyre ballads that had been in vogue back in 18 when Zeus and Hera got married. Apollon wasn't really sure how to play it the right way, but he had his mother Leto to lend him her ear a few hours so he could practice. Leto had even found the right kind of lyre somewhere among all the trinkets stored in the basement at Olympos. I involved Orion who wasn't too hard to convince to play his part.

Zephyros was accepting bets over if our plan would work or not. Eleithya, Hestia, Iris, Hephaistos and Ares were holding against while I, Hermes, Apollon, Leto, Artemis and Auroanos were wagering our credits on pro. And all the time we had to be sneaky enough for neither dad nor Hera to suspect what was going on.

I was standing by the stage, drink in my hand and watched Orion asking Hera for a dance. She smiled and took the giant Attic's hand. Orion is even taller than dad and broader over his shoulders than my brother Irdonan and he has a kind of dangerous look to him. But like all these big men I know he has a heart of gold. It's small men like Irolos of Argospantheon or Loke from Valhall one should watch out for. I mindspoke Artemis who didn't wait a second to go up and ask her father to dance with her. Auroanos and Hermes had kept him busy with talk up until then.

I heard them over the hubbub:  
- Sure, lovely. Dad kissed his daughter on her hand and soon they were on the dance floor. Hermes gave me one of his wicked smiles. I checked out Apollon. Yes, he had noticed. He was buying time, jamming with the horn player, a tar-black girl named Thalia, before leading over into the next song. It became an up-tempo bouncheball that would let Orion manoeuvre close to Artemis and dad without having to worry about propelling his large body into another dancer. Everybody was busy bouncing up and down and all over anyway.

I saw Ares spinning around real frisky with Nike and Aganthanon popping about with Eleithya. Aphrodite was doing indecent things with Phaeton. Irdonan, Sakura, Nardalon, Akiko, Zephyros, Iris and Aeolus were starting a train, and I got a bit scared that Hera or dad would want to join that, because then we would have to start all over again, with a plan B that wasn't half as good. But from my vantage point I saw Orion spin up to dad and steal away my sister from him. I mindspoke Apollon who changed pitch and style on a needle's edge, the way only he can do.

The guitar was traded for the lyre, Clio stopped banging on the tin drums and Urania changed pace on the keyboard.  
- You look so sweaty, my friends, Apollon said over the music. It's time for chill-out. This is an oldie. And I mean oldie! It's called "Colour your heart" and I believe a lot of you in here weren't even born when this was written. He started to play and sing and I watched dad and Hera, both abandoned by their dance-partners and looking a bit out of place. But that only lasted half a second or so, then dad simply took Hera in his arms and started to move slowly to that old ballad. "Colour your heart" - Zeus and Hera's song.

Later that night we were a few who had snacks in the kitchen. A large group had continued the party in my pool and others had drifted off to more private places where they could seek entertainment for twosomes. Apollon - the real hero of the evening - sat on a kitchen worktable with an acoustic guitar and sang sad love songs while he was attacked from all sides by his band. Those girls - called the Muses - were a sister-hood of the kind that had become so in vogue over the last decades.

- But Apollon's our honorary sister, Clio cooed and hugged his waist from behind.  
- Our favourite brother, you mean, giggled Melpomene and kissed him on his bare shoulder while holding on to him from the side.  
- We've adopted him, you see, explained Thalia who was holding on to his left leg.  
- Yes. All of us at a time, continued Erato who held the right leg.

- Wonder what Artemis will say about that, Auroanos commented.  
- And Irdo, Aphrodite replied. He hasn't got a harem like that, and if he's still into that girls competition with Ollie he's losing it now I guess.  
- No worry, Irdonan could be heard from behind. I've grown out of that thing now. I turned around. He stood in the door-frame with his arm around Sakura. Huh! When did that happen?

- So is it here one's getting food and music? Irdo went on. Kuri and I are hungry. In our ears as well as in our stomachs.  
- Then eat! I said, indicating the generous amount of assorted snacks at the large working table. And enjoy Ollie as well!  
- How did that Hera/dad plot go by the way? Sakura asked.  
- At least they danced with each other, I told. As you can see, they're not here. And they weren't out in the pool five minutes ago when I was there.

- They weren't in the Olive Garden? Astraea guessed. I know dad has been taking mum there earlier.  
- Nope, Aphrodite told. That's where I wore out poor Phaeton. Not much stamina in that boy. Not like his father.  
- You're right, Helios is hot! Hestia pointed out. Extremely viril. The one to get him can count on a sure bliss.

- Has anyone even seen Zeus and Hera after that set-up on the dance floor? Sakura asked. Collective head-shakes followed. No-one knew where dad and Hera were and I took that as a good sign. Artemis and Orion were also missing. Perhaps we had even got a bonus-match that night. I met Apollon's blue-green eyes and he smiled at me. He was thinking the same while toying with Calliope's frizzy hair.

Yes, it had worked. I got a mindcall from Eleithya almost an hour later. _They're in your garden_, my sister was saying. _I'm sorry if I did not believe in you guys, but_... I wanted to farsee them, so I cut her off asking where they were. _At that horse-man statue. But don't enter. Spy instead!_ So I went into the nearest bathroom and turned the mirror into a sighting-screen. Soon enough I found them sitting on the marble bench by the centaur-fountain with a beautiful view over a moonlit Athens. Dad had put a "non-enter"-spell around the area to ensure their privacy, but he hadn't taken spies like yours truly in matter.

- There's no such thing as "over" when it comes to you and me, Hera, he was saying.  
- How can you be so sure about that, Zeus? How can you be so certain that my love for you isn't dead after all you have put me through?  
- Hera! Hera! We've been married for 71 years. And I love you with the same intensity as the first day when you came from Argos to Ekarantanni and kidnapped my heart. We blew the chance to have a great 70 years jubilee last year, but that doesn't matter. We can do it this year instead. Happy 71, how do you like that, my Peacock?

- Zeus, I... I'm not sure. But I guess I have myself to blame. I knew all the time that you weren't going to remain faithful to me. That you were going to betray me. Yet I came to you and let you make me yours. In spite of all the warnings from my friends I agreed to come and "Colour your heart"...  
- Yeah, that was a beautiful set-up. I think I know who's behind... Now, what the Chaos! Dad stood up.  
- What, honey?  
- Now they are farsight-spying on us too, these marvellous children of ours. Dad stared right into my face and I could have sworn that he was seeing me through the 5D connection, even though all evidence say that they work one-way.

- No privacy around here anymore, he stated. Come! The next moment dad swept up Hera in his arms and took off in the sky, and I didn't dare to trace him any longer. Instead I found myself staring at my own familiar image, with those blond curls around my heart shaped face people call cute. I noted that I had tears in my eyes. Of joy? Perhaps. I didn't really dare to hope yet. Hera had sounded so insecure.


	11. Another heart breaks

**Another heart breaks**

- Okay, class is over, Athena. You're doing fine, your progress is excellent. That mortal woman really did get a new life. Anaktoron closed his note book and rose. Let's go for a walk, it's a wonderful evening. I nodded slightly and let him take my arm, as we walked out through the open terrace doors and took a jumping shortcut the five floors down to the wet grass.

It had stopped raining about an hour ago and now the full moon was shining trough rags of clouds.  
- Something you want to talk about? I guessed as Anaktoron and I started to walk down the pebbled path through the Cretan Garden. Crickets and frogs were calling out their mating songs and somewhere more human music was heard. Apollon was playing that lyre again.  
- There's some homework I want you to do, Anaktoron said. I'll point you to some books I know are in the Olympic library. But first I want to talk about other things. I want to leave the business part of our life behind a bit.

- What do you mean? We had stopped beneath a large elm where fireflies were dancing.  
- I want to tell you that you are more than a good student to me. You are a very extraordinary woman. You're different from the rest. More refined. There's purity in your heart and brilliance in your mind that even outshine that of Great Zeus. I have come to appreciate you in a very special way during these weeks. I want to get to know you better on another level. A more private one.  
- You mean as in...  
- Hush! Anaktoron took my face in his hand. You know what I've said about talking too much. Then he kissed me and I felt my mind start spinning. This was my fantasy coming true...

¤¤¤¤

The next day I found myself in the library, still a bit shivering and mesmerized after the night spent with Anaktoron. While trying to read "The Immortal Body" I suddenly heard voices some bookshelves away:  
- Philotes of Renlaziar? I heard dad. And he was good? Someone mumbled something in reply. Astraea?

- No, don't give me that look, Peacock! I know you weren't content yesterday night. Or you wouldn't have torn at my tunic the way you did. Hera answered something where "sleeping around" and "jealous" were the only words I could hear.  
- No, never, dad said. I can tell that none of Philotes, Kephalos and Aeolus satisfied you the way you want satisfaction from a man. The way I give it to you. I see it in your eyes, they were nothing but momentary pleasures, just as my little flings always have been.

- You're so sure of yourself, Hera mumbled.  
- More sure of where I got you, darling. You're so transparent sometimes. You never really wanted anyone but me. Trying to provoke jealousy in me by playing around with young gods isn't working. It's just a game, temporary moments of pleasure. Means little, forgotten in the morning.

Hera and dad talked about some book and then they walked on and I couldn't hear them anymore. So dad didn't care about Hera's affairs? He thought them as unimportant as his own events. Wonder if Hera understood that he was actually saying more about himself than about her, that he had just given her a reason for trusting him.

I soon forgot about the royal couple though. That night Anaktoron came to my place and I invited him in. Way in! Both into my body and my soul. I let those dark brown eyes devour me, those sensitive hands with their long fingers explore me and I let his passion be mine. Anaktoron, of far east of Eleithahar, on the other side of the mighty Khalesmos mountain range who had come to Olympos to teach us this exotic art of seeing inside a human soul and reading and healing her wounds. Anaktoron whose special talents were so different from anything I knew from earlier experiences. And who was giving to me all he knew. Who became mine...

¤¤¤¤

In the Academy of Athens people were looking out in the night sky, through a big telescope showing stars and galaxies which were so far away that the light had travelled for millennias to come here. Nike's brother Nardalon was supervisor of the telescope and he was surrounded by a large group of mortal students, listening enchanted to his divine voice:

- When the light left these suns our world was still controlled by the race of Gaia, and our kind, the Homo Sapiens, were just cave-dwellers. Even the mighty Titan race was but an embryo, just being born on the shores of Muria. I'm talking 150 000 years back in time here, my young ladies and gentlemen. Still that's just a second when we're dealing with the Universe. It is old. Inter-dimensional researches have proven it to be billions of years.

A petite, dark-haired girl rose her hand:  
- But how can that be? The Earth Book say that the Earth and Heaven were created in...  
- That's Titan knowledge, Tridora, Nardalon answered her. The Titans told of a different world, because they didn't know better. They had no way of learning how the universe was created, and they lacked the ability to understand long time-spans. For them everything had started with their race's emerge. Uranos defeating Gaia was their opinion of creation. And Chronos' death was the End of the World. That was why they fought so hard against Great Zeus. But let's return to the stars...

When the students had left Nardalon invited me to look trough the telescope too. I had been stargazing before, but nothing could have prepared me for this. It was actually possible to see thousands of years back in time. To see stars that were only tiny dots in the night-sky. There are stars out there with planets like our own and huge clouds of gas. I had farsighted them with 5D methods earlier, but it was entirely different to see them through a 3D instrument. No spiritual disturbances.

I also saw the planets and the moons of our own star system with new eyes. The green, lush forests of misty Venda, the red desserts and the ruins and dry canals of the lost civilisation of Maerda. Again I wondered what had happened to these people, as well as to the destroyed planet outside Maerda. Then there were the gas giants, Jutar, Satori, Ur and Tun followed by some stone globes that were hardly planets, revolving far far away from the Sun.  
- Do you think it's meant for mankind to go to these places? Nike's brother asked me.

- Why not? They are there, and one day we'll be able to build vehicles to take us there. Even though I can see no reason for us to visit the gas giants I sure want to know what lives in the jungles of Venda and try to find out what happened to the Maerdans.  
- You're so confident, Athena. You really think everything can be done.  
- Yes, why not. Given time, which we have plenty of. You and I are immortal and the mortals will have offspring who are going to sail among the stars. I even think it can be possible to travel to these planets surrounding other stars.

¤¤¤¤

- Going to the stars? Anaktoron was smiling. That should be you coming up with something like that, Athi. You really are an amazing being. I'm so glad I met you.  
- And I'm so glad I met you. Do you think we were meant for each other?  
- You are meant for greatness, Athena. If you want me along on that journey I'd be proud to follow you.

Anaktoron took hand, kissing it lightly with soft lips. He was still a bit sweaty after our lovemaking and I treaded with my fingers through his wet forehead locks.  
- You're welcome everywhere, beloved.  
- Even to the stars?  
- Yeah, but not tomorrow, I said. In another 150 years or so, when we have straightened out all problems here, I suppose we could start investing time and energy to leave Earth. You know I've been thinking about something else. I've made some discoveries considering 5D farsighting.

- Enlighten me, Athena! I don't know much about it.  
- For a long time this technique has been regarded as a novelty, something depending on certain brain qualities. Foremost, the trait that makes it possible to farsee is almost exclusively limited to immortals and secondly it's a technique that takes long time and much concentration to master. I have more or less of it, but I'm far from a master.  
- Why?

- It's about practice and keeping the skill alive. Dad uses it all the time to check on things around the world. Then you have to have the right screen tool. Best of all is a pool of water, there's something with the H2O that makes it easy to project images upon it. I've heard enough jokes about people sighting in the loo by the way. Second best is anything flat and shiny, like a mirror or a polished surface of some kind.

- You must concentrate on the place you want to see, and your mind connects to the area through the 5:th dimension, I went on. That's why it's called 5D. Or you can make the mind connecting to the one you want to see through the chi flow. Skilled people like Dad and Oreynadan can do fabulous things like projecting several pictures of different things on the same screen, and even exclude people from seeing it. Now I believe there must be some way of recording these screenings, just like if you had had a camera mounted on the place you wanted to see.

- Have you tried it?  
- Yes I did. First I tried rigging a camera and aiming it at the sight-screen. That didn't work at all. I was having a ball sending pictures of Aphrodite and Ares doing all kind of things with each other, but the film only ended up consisting of several boring minutes of a plate of water.  
- Aphrodite and Ares would have been nice to see, Anaktoron smiled.

¤¤¤¤

- I could have told you so, dad said the next morning. The things we "see" on those screens aren't really there. We see them in our heads, the screen being only the receiving point we're concentrating on.  
- But how can others see...  
- They see it through the senders brain. They receive if they are only the slightest sensitive to these things, which almost every immortal is. It's not a reception of transmitted light waves, like your films. It's transmitted chi instead. Films and photographies are only sensitive to light waves.  
- So what we need is a chi-sensitive film? I asked.

-That's right, Hera said and sat down next to dad with a cup of coffee in her hand and one for Astraea. Oh - that beverage, so trendy and so disgusting!  
- Thanks, mama, Ea mumbled with eyes half-open. She's everything but a morning person.  
- A whole new kind of science, Hera went on. You can master it Athi, I'm certain!  
- How come it's so easy to screen upon water or mirrors but not on - like this table? Apollon asked.  
- It's only a matter of concentration, dad said. Water or mirrors are flat, shining surfaces with nothing that disturbs. Water has the quality of calming the brain with its own chi. But look at this:

Suddenly there was some kind of picture covering the things that filled the table. Upon the newspapers, empty china, napkins, cups, silverware and other breakfast utilities I saw something that looked like skyscrapers. Eos arrived and sat down:  
- What are you guys doing?  
- Now look, dad went on and levitated everything into a heap by the empty chair Ares had vacated five minutes ago. Then, upon the reddish marble, we saw Ekarantanni in the pink light of dawn, the very same picture that could be seen from the window behind me. The patterns in the marble disrupted the picture, making it look like a puzzle.

- See? All you need is a clean screen. It's the same thing if you should show a film on a messy table. Impossible to make out what's there.  
- Beautiful, Eos said.  
- I only wonder... I said, how am I going to put this on film?  
- Would it be possible to achieve it through psychokinetics? Apollon speculated. Affect the film with your brain?  
- I'll give it a try, I said.  
- There goes our privacy out of the window, Eos snorted. Now we'll never know if someone's going to spy upon us and film that.

- Oh, there's ways to ward that off, Hera said. Disrupt the chi and you'd be left alone.  
- But I can't... Eos looked sad and lost.  
- You can practice, Hera said with her down to Earth look.

¤¤¤¤

- Ana? I knocked on the door to his suite. I could feel him inside, but he was not answering. Strange. Curious I pushed the door open, and heard laughter. Anaktoron. And my sister Eleithya. What where they up to?

Next second I stopped dead in my tracks to the sight meeting me. There he was, my beloved, on the wide living room sofa, undressed and sweaty and with my sister beneath. It was obvious enough what was going on. I could hardly breathe at the revelation. In spite I heard myself utter Anaktoron's name and felt him turn and look at me:  
- Athena? What are you doing…?  
- What are _you_ doing? I felt my voice go high-pitched.

When I turned and ran out I head Thya calling out my name, but blood was buzzing in my ears and I felt something red come to my eyes and then salty tears. Anaktoron – with Eleithya! So all those words about how special I was had obviously been lies! Had he been saying the same thing to Eleithya? And Astraea? Astraea had quit the classes rather soon after the group teachings were over, was that because she was not interested in going to bed with Anaktoron? Was I just a big looser, fooled the same way as poor Hera had been.

At the thought of Hera I stopped in my tracks and those running feet closed in on me in the long corridor. Anaktoron caught my arm.  
- Athena, I'm sorry, this is not what it looks like…  
- What do you think I am? Stupid? Don't you think I'm recognizing a sex act when I see one?  
- It was for educational reasons. Thya and I had come to the part of her education where…  
- Education my rear end! You've just been using me. And Thya! Your bastard! And she was ready to be fooled the way you'd been fooling me?

- No, Athena, No! I'd...  
- What is this all about? Eleithya had arrived behind our teacher, looking consternated and angered. Why did Athena...  
- I came to surprise Anaktoron. But it was obviously the wrong moment for a surprise.  
- But why are you so mad, Athi? Thya asked.  
- Because I've been set up by this mister Soul Pimper! And so have you, dear little sister.  
- What the... Thya looked like she just seen a pink dragon in the ladies room.

- Girls... Anaktoron tried.  
- Yeah we are apparently stupid girls, easy to fool with sweet words and soft kisses. Did he tell you too how precious and unique you were, Thya?  
- I... he... Now tears came up in my sister's eyes. Then she started to curse in a way I had never heard this usually so gentle girl curse, and when Anaktoron tried to sooth her she suddenly lashed out and slapped him in his face.

The soul healer looked surprised when he touched the reddening cheek where Thya's open hand had hit him. Then he said:  
- Have my teachings been to no avail then? Haven't any of you understood...?  
- We understand well enough, thank you, Thya said with tears streaming down her cheeks. You've just been using us, having fun. Now I know what mum meant with "taking care of my heart". I hate you, your bastard! Then Thya turned and ran off in the opposite direction, with no seemingly other goal than putting as much distance between herself and Anaktoron as possible.

Anaktoron stared a bit at the corner where Eleithya had disappeared, and then he turned to look at me.  
- Surely you understand better, Athena what this was all about.  
- No, sir, I said with thorny voice. Please enlighten me; I don't think I'm going to pass your test otherwise.  
- It's about physical release. Without physical release no one can see the reality of one's soul. And without understanding the own soul no one can cure other people's souls.  
- Then I think I can do without soul healing in the future. And that I think goes for Thya too.

By those words I too turned and left Anaktoron alone in the corridor. I had let myself become used by a man and I felt miserable over it, promising myself "never again".

A slight knock on my door in the late of night. And since it wasn't Anaktoron I went down to open.  
- Thya...  
- Athena, hope you're not mad at me.  
- Why would I? It wasn't your fault. You got fooled as much as I by that jerk.  
- I've talked to dad. He's sending Anaktoron away. Hope you're not going to mind.  
- No, I'll celebrate at the thought, I said with a sarcastic laugh. I guess there won't be any Olympian soul healers in the nearest future.

- Wrong, I'm continuing the studies, Eleithya stated and raised her cheek a bit.  
- You are?  
- I sure am. But with books and own researches. There are enough mortals down there with tattered souls for me to practice on.  
- But without a teacher...  
- I'll just have to do it on my own, Athi. Because if I don't I'll let that bastard Anaktoron win the game.

Then we looked at each other for a second or two before falling into each other's arms.

¤¤¤¤

A week later Hera gave birth to little Hebe, her daughter no 4. And I reminded myself that there was more to life than rouge men while holding my newest little sister. She was looking at me with interested brown eyes and holding on to my pinkie finger with her delicate little hand.


	12. Persephone

**Persephone**

_As mentioned earlier __Persephone has a father for real in my story, Demeter is married to a man called Oreynadan. He'll be mentioned in this chapter and appear later in the story._

* * *

While Eleithya went on with soul healing my young cousin Persephone was the one to open my eyes for a new area of research. It all started with me almost colliding with Demeter at the pathway outside my Olympic home. Demeter managed to avoid crashing into me with an odd manoeuvre which almost had her ending up in the thorn bushes instead. I took hold of her arm and noticed that she was pale as a snowman and that her beautiful, dark brown eyes were large and worried. 

- Dee, what's wrong?  
- It's Persephone, she hasn't answered her door in 5 days and now she has put a block on the entrance. And I can't get through it.  
- Five days... Well maybe she just wants to be left alone. Maybe she's...  
- No, Athena, there's something wrong. I can sense that. She has never locked herself in before, never refusing to answer the door. And now suddenly - and for five days! Why? I'm getting Zeus.

Demeter started ahead, and I followed her. My first thought was of course that this was false alarm. Dee had always been overprotecting her only daughter, and I thought she and Persephone had had an argument and now Persephone had locked herself in just because she was mad at her mother.  
- Or maybe she's gone somewhere, I continued my thoughts aloud.  
- Where should she go? Dee answered without turning her head.  
- Maybe she met someone or...  
- Then she would have told. No, she's not away. She's in there.

I went with Demeter through the Cretan Garden with its maze of paths, trimmed bushes, zillions of roses, statues and fountains and up the small slope to dads house. Luckily he was at home, had just returned from the Nexus in fact, together with Alatheia, who was working in his office these days. He also noticed Demeter's worried appearance.  
- What's wrong, little sister?

Demeter told him about Persephone being locked inside her house and refusing to open up. Dads first suspicion was exactly like mine, although he thought she had the boy inside the house.  
- No, Zeus, Demeter insisted. There's no boy involved in this. She's in there alone. Something has happened to her. And I can't open up that door block.  
- You're sure there's something wrong? You're sure she doesn't just want to be alone?  
- Zeus, would I come like this then? You must open that door! Please!  
- Let's go then, dad said.

Once again we cut across the Cretan Garden. Four persons this time. Alatheia was saying something about Persephone after all being 26 years old and able to take care of herself, and I told her:  
- You're right about that, Alli, but normal decency demands that you say where you're going when you disappear like that. I always tell people when I go to Athens for instance. I don't just leave. And if Peri simply wants to be alone for a couple of days, why not say so? Everyone would respect that. My 19 year old sister only hummed in reply.

Persephone lives just next to me, on the other side of a canal. Her house is smaller than mine and surrounded by the Dryad's Garden so her place resembles a little personal paradise with a well kept garden. Demeter led the way across the red wooden bridge and up to the front door. My aunt was right, there was a strong block lying in front of the door, and I doubted that I would've been able to open it. Zeus tested it lightly, nodding slowly.  
- Now this girl doesn't want to be disturbed. This is a Garneya blocking. One of the most powerful there is, and almost impenetrable if planted right.  
- You mean you can not open it? Demeter almost screamed.  
- No, calm down, I didn't say that. I'm only wondering what she can be up to taking this kind of precautions.

- Well, open it! Demeter urged.  
- Not so fast. I'm going to see if there's something else that's not supposed to be here first.  
- Maybe there was something scaring her, Alatheia pondered.  
- Then why didn't she go for help instead? I asked. I was away, but Sakura lives over there, I nodded to the two-store house halfway hidden by elms. Ares is not far away either. And Peri could have mindcalled anyone.

Dad was testing the block again.  
- There's nothing unusual here, he said. There isn't anything that could possibly have scared Persephone. Not here, at Olympos! I would have known that. On the other hand - something is definitely not right on the inside. Now I'm going in. Dad was pushing at the block and I felt it start to crack only seconds after his first attempt. On top of the carefully laid block Persephone had locked the front door. It seemed almost ironic. Dad opened the door telekinetically and we went in, Demeter pushing herself ahead, and inside the living-room with it's large panoramic windows facing Persephone's little herb-garden and orange tree on the backside.

- Oh faith! My little doll! Demeter had found her daughter lying unmoving on the carpeted floor next to the windows. Head resting on a pillow, pale face, eyes staring lifeless into the ceiling. She was almost naked, only dressed in a short skirt. Demeter began to shake her daughter.  
- Persephone! Persephone! Answer me! Dad kneeled next to his sister, Alatheia and I remained standing behind.

- Is she dead? Alatheia whispered in my ear.  
- I don't know. I can't see what could have killed her in that case. And why did she block the door?  
- Maybe she killed herself? Like Iwendra's son?  
- Oh, shut up! That dude was crazy. Peri isn't.

I looked at dad who gently told Demeter to move over and then he took poor Persephone's head in his hands, lifting her up until her forehead touched his. For two long minutes he sat like that and no-one hardly dared to breathe.  
- Fetch water, Alli! he finally said and my sister ran out in the kitchen. At the same moment Persephone started to writhe and kick about with legs and arms. Then she was coughing and finally she seemed to focus.  
- Zeus? Where...

- Hush, girl. Try to sit up! Dad was holding her around her back, and Alatheia handed him the glass. He helped Persephone drink, who gulped and coughed again. Demeter was babbling to her but Zeus told her to be quiet and give him the blanket lying on the sofa.  
- She has been too far. She can't answer anything right now. She's disoriented. Dad wrapped Persephone into the woollen blanket and my cousin seemed to focus one more time, first at Zeus and then at her mother.  
- I ate a... a... pomegranate. Hades was... telling me all these things. You can go down in a...

- Hades? Demeter was saying. Hades who?  
- The man in the triangle with four corners. For the first time Persephone seemed to notice her mother. You knew him. Back in the war. He had this... like a... Like when it's red but not. But really warm.  
- She's gone, Alatheia was saying. My sister and I had also sat down on the carpet now.  
- She's not, dad said. She's been soul tripping.

- Persephone, haven't I told you that you can not do these things alone? Demeter scolded. It's dangerous. Even the most experienced soultrippers don't go without a ward.  
- But you didn't want to sit on me, Persephone whined.  
- I told you I could sit on you when the conditions were right. When you were more stable and when we had time enough to practice.

- Practice my butt! You'd never let me go deep. You'd never let me leave the 3:rd dimension. I wanted to go to the spiritual world. I wanted to touch the quantums.  
- Peri you are too young.  
- Mum, I'm 26. You had been tripping for years and years at my age. You told me that you and uncle Zeus used to...

- Those were special circumstances. It was a war and we needed to find ways to see the future. See what our enemies were planning and if we could have a chance to succeed.  
- Persephone, your mother is right, you are a bit young, dad said. You need to practice more before you do these things. Deep tripping can be really dangerous. And you were way deep, sweetheart. I had real trouble getting you back. If I hadn't found you and caught you we'd lost you.  
- You mean I'd...

- Yes, dad said frankly and Demeter started to babble again, lecturing her daughter and thanking dad at the same time. Dad hushed her and went on:  
- If we hadn't been able to wake you you'd be a living dead, lost to us, since your soul wouldn't have been able to find its way back to your physical body. And eventually your physical body would have stopped working too.

- But I'm... Am I not immortal like...  
- Peri, dad said. You know how it works. If you disconnect the soul from the body it dies. Either violently, like in an accident or slowly if you trip to deep and can't go back. Or - as the mortals go - when their physical body stops working and the soul has to abandon it to avoid going mad out of pain. Next time you go tripping...

- There's not going to be a next time, Demeter said firmly.  
- Mum! Persephone started, and dad came to my cousin's defence.  
- She won't stop whatever you say, Demeter. You can't forbid her. But from now on young lady, you're not going anywhere without a ward. That's a firm rule. That will in fact be enforced on the whole pantheon from now on. It just hasn't been before, because we haven't had these problems. The only regular trippers have been Demeter and Oreynadan, and they've always warded each other.

- But mam and dad won't ward me, Persephone said.  
- I can ward you, I offered. I haven't done this that much before. I've been sitting on Nike and Sakura sometimes and they have been sitting on me, but I'm not that interested in tripping myself. I never seem to find any interesting places. Just purple grass and green suns. And - creatures - looking weird and talking yet weirder. On top of that I feel like gore when I return.

Persephone shone at me:  
- I'll take you, Athi. Show you interesting places. And if you drink water you won't feel that way.  
- If you both go you'll have to have two wards, dad said. No such experimentations to start with, you hear me!  
- We hear you all right. Spoilsport, I joked.

- Persephone now, dad was saying. You were almost over in the Beyond...  
- I promise I won't go there again, my cousin said. Not without someone sitting on me. Like Athena.  
- I know that, dad said. Nevertheless, to not make this whole venture pointless, tell us what you saw! You talked about someone named Hades. Who was he?

- But you know him. He was with you in the war. In Blue Gold.  
- He told you that?  
- U-hu. Persephone nodded. He said he had been fighting by your side but that he died when he was helping you get into Merioly. Was he lying?  
- No, he wasn't. There was a Hades in the Order, dad confirmed. Hades of Pluto. A bit weird. Funny guy.  
- Funny? I thought he was spooky, said Demeter.  
- Yeah, I know a lot thought that. Whatever, he was good at what he did. I'm a bit surprised that he would approach you, Peri. That he would approach any of us after all these years.  
- Maybe because I was curious.

- Maybe that, dad said. Peri, I'm curious too. Tell me more!  
- This Hades guy. He lives there, it's like beyond a river but not really. It only looks like one. Hades said it's a Styx. A quantum flow. He wanted to show me beyond there. Wanted to take me...  
- Oh, Chaos! Demeter said. He would have had you killed for sure! Now Zeus, I am not going to let my daughter go back there with or without a ward.  
- Wait, Zeus held up his hand. Let Persephone finish her story first. Then we'll see how dangerous this really is.

So Persephone told us about her trip. In fact she hadn't been tripping all the time during the five days she had been locking herself into her house. Instead she had been starting with small trips and then returned to drink, eat and nap. But for each trip she had dared to go further and further on into the multidimensional realm. On one point she had encountered this Hades who had been bragging about his kingdom of death and wanted to show it to Persephone. She had been intrigued and followed him across that quantum flow. And there she had met the souls of the dead.

- Ghosts? Alatheia was asking.  
- No, Persephone said. Real people. Only that they are dead.

Persephone had been scared of course. That place had really felt like the point of no return. But curiosity had won over fright, and she had also been convinced by Hades that the place she was going to would be harmless to her, since she was an immortal human. Hades had promised to take her back, and as a gesture of his sincerity he had given her something like a fruit that had tasted and looked just like a pomegranate. Kind of strange. A mere pomegranate among all these weird things. Persephone had accepted, but just as she prepared to enter Hades' realm she had felt a strong force pulling her back. That had been Zeus coming to get her.

- Next time, dad said. I'll sit on you, little niece. And Athena is sitting too, to learn.  
- Zeus, you can't, Demeter started but dad cut her off:  
- End of discussion. This daughter of yours won't stop soul tripping, and if we don't sit on her she'll go on her own, and next time we might not be lucky enough to be able to bring her back.

¤-¤-¤

- I'm sick of Aphrodite, Artemis said and sat down in front of me at the patio, cup of nectar in one hand and some boring-looking political paperwork in the other. Her nowadays shortcut and blue hair shone in the late afternoon sun.  
- Now what? I said closing my astronomy magazine, preparing for what I knew would come from my somewhat puritan older sister.

- Isn't there any man she can let be? She's been fooling about with every brother you and I have, and it's only a question of time before she takes advantage of little Aietes' steaming teenager's hormones and drags him off to bed too.  
- And then you haven't heard the latest, I told my sister. You were away when she had a go at Eos because Eos spent some good time in the company of Ares.  
- Eos and Ares! Faith cursed, sister! Are you telling me that Sunrise Hair and Warhead have been fooling around?

-Yes I do. Aphrodite got jealous like you wouldn't believe and Eos and she were fighting like alley cats in Springmonth.  
- Over Ares! And what about poor Heph? Has Aphrie forgotten completely that she's married to him?  
- Well, Mimi, Heph got his sweet revenge!  
- Another net?

- Nope. Another woman. Goddess named Lyconessa. New secretary of dad.  
- Hah! Serves Aphrie right, Artemis smiled. She probably thought Heph couldn't even attract another woman. That he was so ugly that no-one else wanted him. Except for her taking him out of pity. Athi, sometimes I feel so sick when it comes to Heph. He's such a nice person and everybody keep pushing him around because of his looks.

- Not everybody.  
- No, but Ares and Auroanos - splitting his wife between themselves. Don't they think Heph has feelings? Don't they think he gets sad? And Aphrie happily playing along. Like all this is some kind of a game. Like it hasn't even crossed her mind that she's hurting people. At least Hermes got the good sense to back out. You know, she's just like Callisto!

- What do you mean, Callisto?  
- She's the same, can't let men be, no matter if they are married or not. She's a wonderful friend and a great political strategic, but when it comes to men she just doesn't think. Remember when she was with dad and had Arcas! Only thing dad really wanted to do was getting Hera back, but...  
- Yeah, I know. You were so mad at her. But you know dad as well as I. Callisto didn't seduce him. It was the other way around...

- Well, speak of Chronos, Artemis cut in and tilted her head at somebody arriving behind me. And it's not Ares this time!  
- Who... Priapos! I exclaimed when I turned and saw who Aphrodite was sitting down together with. The well-equipped one!  
- Yeah, so they say, Artemis said and I felt my cheeks turn red.

- Athena?!! my sister said when I didn't reply immediately she went on: Did you... With _that_ bloke? I thought I knew you a bit better, sis!  
- Well so did I, I confessed, and Artemis snorted.  
- And they call you the virgin goddess! What nonsense!  
- I guess compared to her over there, we all fit that epithet.

When Artemis looked like she wanted to push the subject I racked my brain for any kind of distraction and begun with what first came to my mind:  
- Now let me tell you about what Peri did when you and Sakura were away hunting instead...


	13. Hades

_Sorry for not updating in quite a while, life has been taking too much time. But here we go with chapter 13, please read and review!_

**Hades**

I kept my promise to Persephone, I sat ward on her while she was tripping down in those deep dimensions so far away from the world we can fathom with our normal senses. There were dimensions there which we could hardly figure out, and I understood that some trippers actually became crazy after a while, like Medusa was said to have been. Even I, lending just a piece of my mind, was affected. My cousin held on to that fragment of mind like a security rope, and she was also using it as a telephone line, sending back her impressions. And I was trying to sort these impression with my logical mind, even if everybody said it was futile. Still, I worked that way. I craved logic. I wanted to understand.

This made me change my mind about these trips, and suddenly Persephone and I found ourselves in reverse roles.  
- You're just walking around, Athi, she said. What is it you are looking for?  
- Logic. Sense.  
- There are no such things down there. It's another world. We can't apply our logic upon it.  
- There's got to be some other kind of logic. These parts of the universe must have some reason too. Some natural laws. There must be something holding those pseudo-atoms together for instance.

On my third trip I suddenly had a revelation. It wasn't something these strange creatures out there said that suddenly started to make sense. It was more like the surroundings were starting to make sense. Those extra dimensions, the way the beyond bulged to reach out for you when you were travelling in that direction, the way structures seemed to be bigger on the inside than on the outside and the way time seemed to go slower and even backwards when you were travelling very fast. Wasn't that happening on the 3:rd dimensional too? I tried to remember my mother's files on these things. She had been a frequent tripper in her youth, before she met dad.

I returned up.  
- Persephone, I said. We must take a break. I think I've found something I want to check. If you want to trip, ask Zeus or one of your parents! I need to do some researches on my own.  
- You're not going to trip on your own? Peri looked worried. You know I had hard to hold you for a while back then, when there suddenly were two of you.  
- There were never two of me. I only went back in time. And I think I get this now.  
- What?  
- I'll explain later. I'm not going to trip though. So don't worry about that, dear cousin. I yanked some of her braids with affection.

That evening when dad came up home I almost assaulted him, asking for mothers files with my breath on top of my lungs.  
- Titi, you're overexcited. What's happened?  
- I found something I want to check upon. Can I please have mothers files?

Dad brought them out, and then I became the one who locked herself in for several days. I was doing mathematics. Filling every paper there was in my house with formulas and figures. Counting and recounting, hoping my calculations would solve out the way I suspected them to. I had all those numbers, those multi-dimensional co-ordinates in my head, and now I was putting them down on paper. And mother's stuff proved helpful. She had actually done the same work earlier on the 3D universe. Now I only had to apply her reasoning on the multidimensional one.

Several times dad, Hera, Peri or some of my sisters and brothers showed up at the bottom of the stairs asking me to come and eat or join in a game. And I was always:  
- Gimme another minute! And those minutes turned into hours and days. Until suddenly on a dawning morning it all added up. I had solved the problem. I actually understood how this multi-dimensional spiritual universe was constructed. It was brilliant! It was logical! It was wonderful! Pure magic! I realised I was crying, because it was so unbelievable beautiful. It all added up. Down to the last decimal.

I wanted to run out and scream so all of Olympos, all of Ekarantanni, all of the world could hear me. I wanted to usurp the radio and the new television wave lengths and tell everybody how great it was, how perfect, how fantastic. But - as it turned out - I could hardly convince my own family.

I told them about my theory at the next weekly meeting. I had prepared pictures with formulas and curves and 2D-representations of 6D objects I figured would make sense. Then I explained it as simple and general as I could without loosing some of the logic.

In spite of that I soon found that I had lost them all. Even dad, Auroanos and Hephaistos who usually grasp this with maths. Hephaistos sat with the sleeping Aphrodite in his knee, toying with her blond curls. (That I had lost her was no surprise, she could hardly understand her own bank account.) Auroanos was looking out of the window, paper half-filled with scribblings (at least he had tried) and dad was playing with paper-clips in magnetic fields. No wonder all these are magnetic at Olympos!

Then suddenly someone was saying:  
- I think I understand. At least somehow. It's all about 10 degree equations and trajectories. It was Alatheia who had been quite until now.  
- You do? I faced my little sister.  
- Somehow. Let me see your papers!  
- But it's just pure nonsense, Astraea said.  
- Shut up, Tea, it's not! It's only you who's a pea-brain, Alatheia scorned.

- You came up with all this yourself? Demeter's husband Oreynadan asked while my sisters started to fight.  
- Well, I started with Metis of Warinikia's files. My mothers maths. The theorem of relativity.  
- Let me see your figures! Oreynadan said. I knew there had to be some logic behind the multidimensional universe, only that it behaved so different from what we are used to in our physical universe. And I've never bothered with the mathematics behind.

I lended Orey a copy of my figures. At least there were a handful of co-pantheonites who wanted to try to understand. I started all over with Oreynadan, Sakura and Alatheia as audience, and soon dad, Persephone and Demeter came up too, and after a while Hera and Hephaistos. Aphrodite, who had woken up, took her chance and sneaked away with Ares. I spotted them in the corner of my eye, but couldn't care less at the moment.

- I'm almost following you, dad said after I was done the second time.  
- I don't get a dot, said Persephone. But I don't really care. I only find it comforting that there's some logic behind even these crazy places.  
- I'm not sure I agree, Sakura said. Some of the magic is definitely gone when Athi has turned it all into maths and formulas.  
- You're such a romantic, Kuri, Hephaistos said.

The mathematics for the multi dimensional universe proved to be more than just a curiosity for math-heads like yours truly and Alatheia. These co-ordinates and trajectory-patterns turned out to be great help for soul trippers.  
- Almost like an extra-ward, Demeter told. If you just memorise the figures in your head you can follow them back if you get lost. You don't have to hang on that hard to your ward's mind.

- And it's easier to go back to places you visited before, Oreynadan went on. So you don't have to stay in a place because you're scared of not being able to find your way back again, which was very much the case earlier. I believe we can even be able to draw maps over these places soon.

¤¨¤¨¤

I sat on Persephone when she went beyond the next time to see this Hades person. Apparently he had been an immortal in dads Order back in the Titan Wars. He had died just weeks before the fall of Chronos and the end of the war. That was nothing rare, those last months of war had been a whirlpool of terror and violence while the Homo Sapiens had clashed with the Titan forces. Among the Homo Sapiens Immortals more than 600 had died the last year before Chronos was stopped, and when Zeus declared the war over in year zero just a bit more than 100 immortals were left, among those less than three dozen warriors from dads Order of Blue Gold.

The rare thing with Hades had been his ability to remain in control over his soul during his fall through the dimensions. When the soul disconnects from the physical body it falls through the multidimensional realm in a way reminding of an object falling to the ground on Earth. This soul-gravitation is usually very fast and causes disorientation and confusion. Add to this death in itself, which usually is horrible and painful, and it's easy to understand that falling souls lose their memories of the "upper world".

But for some reason this dead Warbrother hadn't lost his mind or his memories of the world above. When he fell he managed to take control, and now he had founded some kind of nation down there. A nation consisting of the souls of fallen humans, former immortals as well as mortals. A nation where he controlled the laws, the rules and somehow even the territory itself.

- Hades is striving to gain control over the reincarnation cycle, Persephone told. He wants his world to be a mirror of the one above, a world where law and order rules instead of the pure chaos it was before. His friend Tartaros is taking care of the bad guys, and another ex-Warbrother, Charon, is controlling the Styx-flow to prevent this kingdom from being attacked by all these stray beasts raving around in beyond-beyond. Then there is a woman named Hecate and another person named Acheron something.

- Why is he telling you all this? I asked.  
- He wants contact with the world above.  
- He wants to reincarnate himself?  
- Not really, it's more like he wants to communicate on a regular basis. He wants control over those dying now, so he knows how to handle them.  
- But that's mostly mortals. The last immortal dying was Iwendra's son Sanu. The nutso who killed himself. Before him there was Daelona who died with an exploding airship, and that was even before you were born. So what is it...

- It's the mortals he wants to control. Justice after death. Those who have lived a good life get rewards and those who have been bad get punished.  
- Sounds like something dad would approve of. But how to recognise these souls? As far as I know there's no finger-prints on souls, and most of them forget about the upper world while falling.  
- That's something he also wants help with. There are unique soul-energy-patterns, reminding of the auras, but beyond this world we can't interpret them yet.

- Do you think it's possible for me to enter there?  
- Why would you?  
- Curiosity.

- Oh, I forgot! Athena, the ever-curios girl who poke her fingers into everything and when getting burned invents arms to protect her before going back there again. I must advise you that it's dangerous. Let me talk to Hades first, tell him I'm letting ir an over the top curious, but very wonderful cousin, and that he must be nice to her.

- Ha ha, thanks. As you said, I'm curious. Perhaps I can help him with his ideas. Doing researches. But first I want to have a look around.  
- I'll get you one.

Peri stayed true to her promise, the day after the next I was able to go there. Not alone, Peri came along with me, and we both had double wards, dad and Hermes holding on to me and Demeter and Oreynadan to their daughter.

It was a long way to trip. A really really long way. Intellectually I had known the distance, calculating it by numbers, but grasping it was an entirely different thing. We were not falling, like the death who reaches Hades in about three subjective days. So we spent almost a week going through those strange realities with colours without names, smells beyond terrible as well as flagrances beyond wonderful and sounds and visions also beyond the day-to-day language.

Peri and I were holding hand, feeling the tug on our minds from our wards. Finally we went through a cleft that can best be described as "red but not really". I guess the colour was residing in the infra spectra, not unlike the colour those who can see radio waves call Laxa. On the other side was Styx, the quantum flow. Peri had called it "the black river", but to me it held all colours there were and then some in intricate fractal patterns.

I soon realised what Peri meant with black. The Styx didn't send out any light waves at all. All I saw was sparkling neutrinos, movements in matters below the quark level. So my brain translated it into colours to help me to somehow keep my grasp on reality. Athena was not supposed to be here - and yet I was, drawn by my never-slaked curiosity.

On the other side - two souls. I wouldn't call them persons, because they were not human beings anymore, that part had been stripped off. They were pure souls. Androgynous? Perhaps. Young/Old, impossible to tell. Not immortal, since they were already dead. At least once. One was the entity Persephone called Hades, the other was "his" helper Charon. Hades appeared like a big, semi-transparent bubble with some impressions looking like human eyes and a month. Charon was a blue blurb that seemed oily and changed its shape all the time.

- Welcome Athena of Above, Hades "spoke" - or at least, transmitted a form of communication. We have assumed some kind of human form to help you understand who we are.  
- Thank you, Hades. I'm honoured that you're willing to receive me.  
- Persephone has been my highly regarded messenger, the first one from above to understand me and wanting to speak to me instead of being afraid and running away.

I looked at Peri who was radiating with pride.

- So, Athena, Hades went on, you're the offspring of my old world leader and good friend Zeus of Dicte. Give him my regards, I'm glad he reached his goal. If Zeus wonders, tell him that Chronos dwells here. In the realm of Tartaros even further away from this place. Because he was never a good man, and he must show regret, which he has yet to do. Then he can be sent back up to start to repay his debt of sin. A deed that will take many mortal lives to live through before he can consider his karma cleansed.

I didn't understand half of the things Hades was saying. And it was hard to interpret the feelings from a face that didn't move.

- Now tell me, Athena, what brings you here to beyond? Hades went on.  
- Curiosity. And then a willing to help with your quest.  
- And why are you willing to help us? Hades asked.

I realised that there was no way to lie to Hades, he was reading minds like primary-coloured marquees. So I told him the truth.  
- Because it's a challenge. You want things no-one has been able to do before. Like tracing the dead and interpreting soul-patterns from souls who have left the 7:th dimension. Challenges like that have always been hard for me to resist. I have always wanted to master what people call impossible.

- I thank you for your honesty, Athena. Now you are to go back to give your physical body some rest. It is craving to be here while not being dead. Farewell for now to you daughter of Zeus and to you, my beloved Persephone.

The next moment we were back in our physical bodies again, thirsty and disoriented. I was freezing worse than with any earlier soul tripping event, my nose was running and my ears were popped as if I had experienced a change in pressure unshielded. But dad was there and held me close and gave me water from a cup with a straw. I coughed and spat and felt like I would never be able to ingest food or beverages again. Dad insisted on me to drink again, and soon I felt better.

Persephone came back faster, but she had after all been down several times, while this had been my first visit. In spite of my bad state Hermes was eager to go next. Dd was holding him back:

- This trip took almost 16 hours, and we're all tired and need a good nights sleep. Hermes, talk to Eos and Astraios tomorrow and have them warding you. Asty has been warding Peri before when she was down. And at least Orey needs to hold his daughter if she goes down with yet another first-time visitor. And tomorrow you must tell me about your visit, Titi and Peri.

¤¨¤¨¤

The coming years I was working with these rather different things, doing mathematics that would help Hades to achieve his goals. I didn't have to trip down there as much as I first thought, Hermes was pleased to help with that part, following and guiding dead soul through what was going to be a kind of high road to Hades' kingdom. I was more of an engineer, doing 7D mathematics to accomplish these things.

Meanwhile my youngest sister Hebe was growing from a cute little girl to a mature and kind goddess. But somehow her teenage revolution went out the window. She was different by not turning the world upside down while groving up. I had been a knows-it-all brat in weird haircuts who got involved in fist-fights or boozing-competitions. And the rest of my sisters and brothers had all been the same. All but Hebe.

- She's too good to be true, Hera told Zeus once, I don't know what it is I never manage to catch her with.  
- Ah, don't worry, Peacock, she's normal, that's all. She's something as rare as a normal child of mine.  
- Thanks dad! I picked on him.  
- You're welcome, Titi, he said with that "I always have an answer"-voice.

In 108 I turned 100, and was celebrated with the mandatory megaparty. My reaction was like:  
- So this is what it's like to hit the famous 3-figures. Can't say I feel any different.  
- Don't you know that life starts at 100? Hestia said.  
- Oh, really!

Then suddenly we were watching the rerun of an old film. Hera leaving, moving to Helicon yet another time. This time Hera got most of the sympathies on her side - it was easy to understand her distress, since dad had given Eos a child! And no one was interested in launching a big plot to lure them back together again. Instead it was Auroanos' mediatings together with Hebe's tears that made Hera return again.

But it was different this time. Hera was back - at the mountain top. But she wasn't sharing dads bed. She hardly even spoke to him, besides purely work-related things and she spent most of the time with Hestia and me or with her children. Or you could find her sitting on a rock, painting sunsets.

This was the ultimate heart-stab for poor dad. He couldn't go after Hera, plead for her return, because she was already at Olympos. At the same time she was as distant from him as if she had been in Lemuria on the other side of the planet.

I remember one evening, sitting in a living room playing square-board with Ares. He had just blasted two of my charioteers in a single attack when I heard Hera behind me:  
- Forget it, Zeus! She sounded harsh and unyielding, and I turned, looking at dad who stood behind Hera, having moved his hand from some part of her body, hurt look in his face.  
- Why? You used to like it when I…  
- Yes, I used to, because I thought I was privileged having you doing that to me. Now I know that you do it to every girl there is. My idea of love and affection involves these kind of things, and I hate to see them misused the way you do.  
- Please, let's not discuss this in front of the children, dad said when noticing the stares of me and Ares as well as from Alatheia, Eleithya and Hermes.

- Why not? Hera said. You've showed that you don't respect me, that you're not interested in our marriage anymore. You just want me because I happen to be around, like a candy in a bowl. The only reason for me to linger is little Hebe. When she's old enough I'm off and you and I are history. And this time no songs sung by Apollon or bling in a box will have me back.


	14. Goddess of war

**Goddess of war**

_¤ The Vandrisvian pantheon is my own invention_

The jungle was hot, wet and filled with all kinds of beasts from roaring feline carnivores to itty-bitty biting insects. The screaming monkeys were stealing our food if we didn't look out and the colourful birds were using our tents and vehicles as toilets.

- The enemy is located south-west of us, the mortal scout reported, wiping sweat off his cocoa-brown forehead. There is a shallow valley-like pit where the river Gaodanza meets the river Livontos. That's where the main troops are.  
- How are they equipped?  
- More guns than us, three Falcon class helicopters. No chariots.

- Those hardly works in the jungle anyhow, I commented, go on!  
- They're about 500 mortals, and I believe two or three immortals.  
- Shorwath?  
- Don't think so.

- We could be able to take them. In a surprise attack, preferably at noon, since these people would expect us to come at night or early in the morning. Alxolita, I turned to the mortal commander, prepare your fighters for an attack tomorrow! This time we'll chase these germs off Union territory!

When the mortals had left I sat down and drank almost a litre of water, to compensate for this excessive sweating, finishing with some Nectar to clear my mind. I had soon realised that I didn't like the jungle. Athena is a city girl who prefers streets and squares and the tame nature of parks. I'm not like Ares and young Arcas, who enjoyed every minute of this venture and who were constantly looking forward to the next enemy to kill. Or Akiko who simply loved wildlife excursions.

But the Union was at war, and in a war you can't chose your location based on preferences. And the Union had use for my strategies, so now I was down here in this miserable place, living in a tent and using farsight-pools, air photos and spies to keep track on the enemy and deciding the next move. And the next and the next and the next… It was like a board-game, only that this one you couldn't shelf and go to bed from, to take out the next evening, sitting comfortable in a sofa in an Olympic living room. Athena had become a goddess of war.

And while I hated sleeping in a tent and waking up with a snake in the bed, I did look forward to the next meeting with Shorwath, the gigantic albino war god with oversized torso, grotesquely bulging muscles and burning red eyes. He had defeated Ares, throwing my little brother into a burning volcano crater, where Helios had to retrieve him. Then I had restored the Olympic honour by almost cutting the manhood off Shorwath with my adamantine blade. Shorwath had fled screaming, and we had sent several telegrams to the enemy about what we did to that ball Shorwath had lost.

So what was this all about then?

On the southern continent the Union shares its border with a large kingdom named Vandrisvia. In year 114 we started to encounter problems along that border. The reason was iron- and silver mines located in the provinces of Gatellaria and Carvessa, and now the Vandrisvians had gotten into their minds that these mines were located on Vandrisvian territory.

What the Vandrisvians did was not, as one first might think, approaching the Union government with their demands. Instead they were setting up clandestine mines in the jungle on Union territory. When the Gatellerian and Carvessan authorities found out and tried to get rid of the Vandrisvians, they soon found themselves under fire and were forced to retreat.

First after these events the authorities in Ekarantanni were informed. And dad was angered of course. With no Hera to sooth his temper he was raging quite a bit more than necessary, over the hundreds who had died, over the metals that were gone into Vandrisvia, and last but not least over the humiliation against the Union.

- Those metal ores are ours, those mines are ours and those killed people were ours! Zeus told the Nexus in a speech. We have to restore our honour. We are going to throw out every single Vandrisvian who is putting as much as a toe on Union territory! I have filed a complaint with Oxaroros, the Vandrisvian Divine King, demanding an excuse and penalty for the lost lives and fortunes. He has not answered yet, and if I don't hear a word from him next week, he sure will hear from us.

The Nexus delegates had been cheering of course. They were all enchanted by dad, enthralled by his speech and his over-worldly charisma. Nothing unusual in that. A decision to declare war upon Vandrisvia had been taken by a far greater number than the 2/3 majority needed.

And when mortals go to war, so do gods. And when mortals were shooting at each other in the jungle, Ares, Sakura, Helios, Akiko, Aeolus, Arcas and I were fighting deities like Talernos, Manassos, Latazza, Metmarna, Lucragon and Shorwath in the sky, above the steaming rain forests of the southern continent.

Our Union soldiers attacked the enemy at that Gaodanza/Livontos junction and their immortals took in the air, attacking the helicopters we flew in as a bate. But Ares and Arcas were piloting these, luring the Vandrisvian immortals away from the battleground, and when they finally managed to hit the helicopters with their pyrotechnical blasts, my brothers jumped out of the vehicles, attacking them. At the same time Akiko and I were the only immortals fighting over the Vandrisvian encampment. Our little trick had worked.

Akiko was fighting like a whirlwind, her bluish-black hair coming lose from its knot and flowing around her. She was like a minor, more intense version of her sister Sakura, even more oriental looking, since she didn't have the fair Zeus as father, but Shan-ji of Gonagavi. And she was screaming all the time, scaring the enemies even more with her voice than with her blade and rifle. I never went wild like that, I never let the fight grip me and deprive me of self-control. Sure, I could let the hyperadrenaline flow, but I remained cool, calculating. _Lethal as liquid_ _nitrogen_, Ares had called me.

In less than 45 minutes, all Vandrisvian fighters were either killed, maimed, on the run into the jungle or swimming for their lives in the white-water of Livontos. The camp was on fire.

A clear victory. Or so we thought. It was not until Arcas returned I understood that another problem awaited us.  
- They have Ares, my non-Olympian little brother said.  
- What?!

- What?! dad thundered, in a belated echo of my exclamation in the Gatellaria jungle one hour earlier.  
- Yes, they have him, Zeus. Metmarna knocked him out while I was busy with Iothenek. Then Metmarna and Lucragon took him between them and took off, breaking the wall of sound as they left. And I have never been that fast. I couldn't keep up. It would hardly have been any use anyway. I can bet my ass on that they went straight to Azelin with Ares. Into the very nest of the beast. Oxaroros have some 46 immortals, all of them fierce and wild, and hating everything Union.

Arcas looked nervous, standing in front of Zeus in the Olympic reception hall. The young son of Callisto might be a paternal brother of mine, but he had never been "son" with Zeus. I could even feel that he was quite a bit afraid of the Divine King now, after screwing up in Gatellaria.

The large room was filled with deities, both Ekarantannian ones and more faraway guests. Most of us Olympians were gathered around dad and Hera's thrones, sitting in comfortable high-chairs or standing. A late coming group were up in the spectators' gallery, I could see Iris there, talking to Apollon, no doubt updating him on the event. The sun flew in through the large windows, sparkled in the indoor pool and shone off gold, gems and velvet as well as fresh flowers and other potted greenery, giving the room a false feeling of glee.

- You think… Ares is dead? Alatheia said with a little voice.  
- He can't be, Aphrodite whispered. He can't be, He can't be, He can't be…  
- I'll go there myself and kill everyone of these vulture-screwing Vandrisvian bastards if anyone dares to even get such a thought into her dysfunctional brain! Hera raged.  
- I'll go with you, mum! Auroanos stated.  
- Me too! Astraea yelled and jumped up from her place.

- Quiet, dad ordered. Ares is not dead. He's alive, but imprisoned.  
- How you know, daddy? Sakura wondered, sad-eyed and clutching her maternal sister's hand.  
- I still feel his presence the way I can feel all my children when I want.  
- What if they just haven't gotten around killing him yet? Astraea worried.  
- He's more worth alive, dad said. Oxaroros might be a brute, but he's far from stupid. He'll try to use Ares for bargaining.

- For what? Sakura asked.  
- Those mines of course, Artemis sighed and looked at her little sister like she was an ignorant five year old.  
- And are we just accepting it? Hera spat. That Oxaroros is using a son of Olympos to get hold of Union territory?  
- No, said dad. But Oxaroros has not presented that bargain yet. He's still got the ball, and until he plays it we'll have time to think. To plan.

- Let's go get Ares! Everyone of us! Astraea shouted, and I could hear echoes of agreements down the hall.  
- Aye! Let's sack Azelin! Burn it to ashes! someone shouted. And others followed suit: _Sack Azelin, Sack Azelin, Sack Azelin!  
_- Silence! Dad again. It's my son in there, but these gods are no creche puppies. I'm not risking Ares' or anyone else's precious immortal life by initiating a hothead attack. We're going to need a clever plan to get him out and at the same time keep the mines. We're going to show that no one can blackmail the Union or its gods. Hermes! Iris! Come down here! And you, Euradan of Kikali, come here too!

Hermes and Iris did one gracious tandem jump down from the spectator's balcony, landing in front of Zeus and Hera. Iris with a large briefcase in hand, and her multicoloured hair falling over her bare shoulders. At the same time the wiry little Kikalian came striding across the floor, stopping just behind the travel-dressed Hermes, arranging his electric-blue toga so he came to look both taller and more stately.  
- You three were in Azelin, dad went on. In Oxaroros' palace, trying to negotiate with the Vandrisvian Divine King.  
- Yes, but unfortunately we failed, Hermes said. Oxaroros was not interested in negotiations back then.

- Maybe he is now, with something to bargain with, Hera said with tense voice. I could tell by the way she gripped the armrests of her throne and the purplish red in her aura that she was more scared than she showed.  
- We'll see, dad answered. Now, Iris, Hermes, Euradan, the three of you will co-work in remembering as much as possible of the palace of Oxaroros and its layouts, and try to make a sketch out of it. Seek help from the architects Eos and Loaro to fill in the gaps with possible structures. That might be useful if we are to free Ares by force.

- Why don't we just farsee the place, scan for Ares? asked the Mayor-Immortal Cassiopeia.  
- Because it's protected, the same way as we keep the summit of Olympos guarded, dad explained.

After some small talk dad had adjourned the meeting, but called a handful of us Olympians plus Aeolus, Arcas, Akiko and Kandrios of Elesios into his office. The latter is head of the Security Council, so I guessed it was a military matter we were going to discuss.

The other deities were trailing off to other duties and events, and not everyone seemed that bothered with the kidnapping of Ares. I know my fight-picking little brother wasn't everybody's favourite but it annoyed me when I heard Pasithea and Mnemosyne gossiping behind me about:  
- That stupid Echo, she just keeps repeating what other people already have said.  
- Yeah, but how about her boyfriend? Narcissus, never met a dude being so obsessed with himself!

On the other hand Aphrodite was crying her eyes out over her absent lover, Astraea trying in vain to comfort her. I was glad Hephaistos was not around to hear.

- So that's the rescue-mission I have in mind, dad finished. Athena, you are the natural choice for leading it. Are you accepting this role?  
- Certainly, dad. I answered. Who can I bring with me?  
- You make the pick. But keep it around half a dozen. A larger group might be hard to manage in a sneaking-raid like this.

- All right, I said and looked over the gods and goddesses assembled in dads office. Arcas, you come with me. And Hermes, since you know the grounds. And Hestia, our valued veteran, you want to come?  
- Of course, the fire goddess smiled. Arcas was also smiling, he felt that he was given a chance to make up for this event he blamed himself for. Only Hermes looked a bit thoughtful.

- I'm not exactly… I mean, I think I would have a problem killing someone if push comes to show down there.  
- No, you won't, I told my brother. When push comes to show as you call it most people don't hesitate a second if it's them or the enemy. Then I'm going to need back-up. People who can engage if we get in trouble. Helios, Astraea, Irdonan, that'll be your role.  
- A good choice, dad nodded approvingly after Helios', Irdo's and Lea's acceptance.

- Do get him back, will you, please! Hera looked at us while we rose, pain in dark eyes beneath gold-dipped fringe. Ares, her first born, captured by a cruel enemy.  
- They will, my dear, dad said and reached for his wife. But Hera silently stepped aside, turning her back and avoiding his embrace, something moisty gleaming in her eyes. Dad awkwardly let his hands fall with a sigh, looking just as hurt. It pained me so much to see them like that, two people I loved and cared for, but what was there to do? Other than going after Ares of course!


	15. Saving Ares

**Saving Ares**

- The enemy lair! My voice sounded almost celebratory while I pointed out the big structure lying ahead of us. Just like Olympos the home of Oxaroros and his pantheon was located on a mountain-summit, with a big city by its foot. But unlike Olympos this was a defended fortress, with high walls and almost no windows facing the outside. Seemed like these gods feared something. Perhaps stray Titans, rumours has it that there were still a lot of them dwelling in Vandrisvia. And the capital, Azelin, was also walled and with a burned perimeter guarded by heavy-armed towers. Now it was us who were kept outside. Four Union deities on a mission to liberate a fifth. Helios, Irdonan and Astraea were waiting behind, in Tarasinallia, the capital of Gatellaria, less than five minutes flight from Azelin if they should be needed.

- And where is Ares? Hermes pondered, scanning the large structure with the high granite walls.  
- You don't sense him? Arcas asked.  
- I sense immortals in there, but there's a disturbance surrounding the building, making it hard to make out more than blobs of energy.

- Scan for someone who's not moving then, I advised Hermes. Ares is probably imprisoned in one way or another, perhaps kept sedated, so he should be quite still compared to the others.  
- How many are there? Arcas asked.  
- 48, Hermes said after a while.

- Dad knew of 46 gods in Oxaroros' pantheon, I said. Then the 47:th should be Ares. Who the other one can be is more than I know, but maybe we'll find out when we enter this place. Now remember what dad said! We are here to get Ares, not tearing this place apart. Best way is if we can enter stealthily, grab our boy and then head home before Oxaroros even notices what's going on.  
- Who's going to teach him not to mess with Zeus's people then? Arcas asked.  
- We are, because however we're getting Ares out we're showing Oxaroros that he's a no-one compared to Zeus and his deities.

- I've found one, Hermes said after a while. A deity who has been sitting still for half an hour, while the rest of them in Oxaroros' lair keep moving around. Now, look here! Hermes showed us an energy-blob who seemed to be stuck in the same position, way up in one of the pointy towers. The energy seemed still, almost apathetic, and I felt sorry for my little brother. Little Ares, wild and energetic from his first breath of life, now imprisoned and probably drugged in a hostile pantheon. That was not the place for him. I had to get him out.

We surrounded the tower, opened up the roof and entered through an empty attic room and down a narrow staircase which felt like it hadn't been used since it was built, some 500 years ago. The top floor held nothing but rat's nests and spider web, but below a human being was dwelling. Ares?

We got the door opened, cautiously pointing adamantine blades in front of us just in case.  
- Please don't harm me! a female voice pleaded. Or – on a second note – kill me!

No, it wasn't Ares. I found myself staring in the narrow ginger eyes of an immortal woman. Homely looking with porcelain skin and unkempt, dark-brown hair framing a round face with a hawky nose and round lips. I lowered my sword, this stranger was obviously harmless, and more afraid of us than we were of her.  
- You are not Oxaroros' gods, she stated with flat voice. So who are you?

_Another prisoner_ Hestia mindspoke._ Number 48 I presume_. I returned an affirmative thought, while I answered the imprisoned goddess:  
- We are deities of the House of Olympos, looking for one of our own. Now who are you, milady?  
- I am Mebra. I'm Oxaroros' first wife. Or rather, I was. But I failed to give him a living child. And he rejected me, took another goddess and locked me up here. This place used to be mine, now it's his. His and his cruel offspring and freaky biological experiments.

- So you're the Vandrisvia? Hestia's question bordered on a statement, and the other goddess simply nodded.  
- That used to be my name once. When I was complete and happy, before I gave my ovaries away to a man who didn't love me. Who only wanted me and my land as possessions. I gave Oxaroros everything, and in return he locked me up here, took my godesshood, my pride, my life and my dignity. Now I am nothing but a shell. I can not even farsee, because Oxaroros has put a forcefield upon the Vista, making it almost impossible to see what's going on in the world outside.

- I know, Mebra-Vandrisvia went on, that a man called Zu or something ended the regime of the Titan tyrant. I know that there's another regime ruling now on the Great Continent up north. But I can not reach these people. Here is like nothing has changed. Here is like there's still a Titan in charge. Here is a place which is doomed, because sooner or later a Zu is going to come here and end Oxaroros. I hope to be dead by then. So kill me if you like, strangers!

- No, we wont, I replied. I'm Athena. I'm the daughter of Zeus, who ended the rule of Chronos the Titan. And I kill no-one without a very good reason. The same goes for all of us. Except for Hestia we're all children of Zeus. Hestia is a sister-in-arms of his. We are looking for another brother of ours. Ares. He's most certainly a prisoner of Oxaroros, held here somewhere.  
- Oh, the strange soul! I felt him as soon as he was brought here. A very powerful soul. I should have known, you all shine with the same powers as he do. But he's not a prisoner anymore, he got out an hour ago.  
- So he's left? Arcas asked.  
- No, he still lingers. He has killed one of Oxaroros' grandchildren, taken her adamantine blade. And now he's out to get Oxaroros himself. I have been praying for his success, even if I know it's futile.

- Ares! I sighed. Always this misdirected energy. Any reasonable person would have fled as soon as he got loose. But not Ares. He was seeking revenge, he was going after Oxaroros, against incredible odds!  
- We must intercept him, stop him, or he'll get himself killed, Hestia stated. She turned to Mebra-Vandrisvia, asking her to help us get Ares in return for her freedom and the restoration of her honour, and I realised that she, with that promise might shatter dads plans of a sneaky liberation of Ares.

But an Olympian stood for her or his words, that was one of our main codex of honour, and I could not go against the promise Hestia had made. We had to act. And we had to start immediately!

Locating Ares was the minor problem. Well inside the castle people's auras were not hidden behind any forcefield and clearly recognisable. I found Ares lurking in a large suit which I presumed was Oxaroros'.  
- So big sister and the caval'ry have come to save the errant lad, Ares scorned as I approached him.  
- Yes, I sighed. I'm here with Hermes, Hestia and Arcas. We're here because we care. We went in to this dragons lair to help you, to get you out. Now, Ares, please cooperate!

- I'm going to finish this Oxaroros and his breed once and for all, and then we can get out of here, my little brother answered.  
- Ares, are you out of your mind? You can't kill all those people here and now!  
- And what are you, Athena, a soft-heart?  
- No, I'm just practical. There are 46 immortals here, there's not a chance in the universe that we can beat them all! Come on, let's get home! Aphrodite is crying her lavender eyes out over you, she's worried to bits! And I…

I was cut off by a deep, harsh voice:  
- Ah! More intruders! Coming for the bug-brained northerner, methinks! Well, you will both be a fine addition to tonight's gladiator games when I've captured and put you in chains!

The one speaking was a huge, light brown hulk of a man, a man who might've been handsome if he hadn't been built so out of proportions. Bulging muscles, covered by ropes of veins, the neck of a bull and hands like shovels. Compared to this 8.20 feet tall giant, even Orion looked small and slender. Genetic experiments, Mebra-Vandrisvia had said. I understood what she meant. Or – at least I thought I did.

_Ares_, I mindspoke,_ is there another way out of here?_ My brother looked upon me with blank eyes. _I came in the same way as you. And as this – thing_.  
_So we can't flee, then let's take him on!_ I told Ares.  
- Don't you think I can hear you, the brute growled.  
- I don't care! I attacked the monster with my adamantine-blade, but he grabbed my fist and wrestled it out of my hand.

Just as planned! While the monster concentrated upon balancing the new blade in his hand I jumped forwards and kicked him in his throat. It was thick and hard, but so was my boot, and when he fell, Ares attacked from behind with his little knife. Ares knew exactly where to hit, in the back of the neck, severing off the spine. The monster was down in a moment, bleeding from a gross wound. Perhaps he would live, perhaps not. At least he was put out of action for the moment. I retrieved my blade and then Ares and I were on the run. I was mindspeaking Hermes our location.

The next hour became just a blur of attacking monsters and defending Union deities trying to get together. Ares and I were running up and down in winding stairs, jumping up at balconies, always hacking and slashing our way through a mass of strange beings. At this moment I wished I had taken the chance to ask Hera how to fight with two swords.

I blessed the metal adamantine which seemed to last through all kinds of ordeals. Sevenfold stronger and harder than steel and more durable, those shiny blue blades were cutting us a way through enemies as well as through stone walls and metal doors. And surrounding us were the calls of sirens and the screams of the enemies.

- Let's try to get up and outwards, so we get out of this maze, Ares! I yelled when we got a rare chance to catch our breath while running through an empty corridor.  
- What are these freaks really, Athi? I've never seen anything like it!  
- Neither have I.

It seemed that Oxaroros' experiments had involved basilisks and gargoyles and other kinds of creepy creatures employed to defend both the pantheon castle and the city of Azelin. Now they felt the smell of enemies and were coming in hordes. I had no other choice than calling in Helios, Irdo and Lea, hoping it would be enough.

Then, suddenly, we were together, gathered at the rooftop of the structure.  
- Let's go! I called out to my fighters.  
- No, Hestia was saying.  
- Are you out of your mind, why no? We have Ares, we're all here, there are Vandrisvians coming from all directions, we can't linger.

- But our promise to Mebra? She showed us how to take on these enemies, how to kill them! In return we promised to help her get Vandrisvia back.  
- Hestia, I'm in charge here, I say we leave! We can get back here later, with bigger guns if that's what you want. But now we must go!

- I must stay true to my promise!  
- Don't question my order! I roared, tried to sound as impressing as dad. I'm in charge! We're leaving!  
- It's just one more kill – Oxaroros.  
- Forget it!  
- Then I'll stay myself and…

- Helios! Irdonan! Take her! We're leaving! The men seemed to hesitate, but then my brother grabbed the goddess of fire and hauled her over his back and took off in the air. Hestia was screaming at Irdo to put her down, but he didn't answer. The rest of us were following, and that was not a moment too late, now the Vandrisvian gods themselves were charging.  
- Get them! a woman was screaming. They have the prisoner.

I didn't look back, I just made sure I took the rear, and then we were leaving as fast as we could. Although these Vandrisvian gods outnumbered us, they were chanceless, since number is no weapon against speed. And we were fast, being gods or children of gods who had outrun Titans. Only two of the Vandrisvians caught up: Shorwath, who I finally got the chance to finish off, and Lucragon who fell for the combined attack of Arcas and Astraea.

Hera was the first one to reach us, she was crying with joy while hugging Ares who awkwardly patted his mother on her back. Then there was Aphrodite, Eleithya, Auroanos, dad and all the rest, including a score of non-Olympians. All were blabbing at a time, wanting the whole story.

- Dad, I said and gripped him by the arm. We need to talk. Now.  
- What?  
- Hestia! I called. Come here!  
- If you're going to run whining to your dad about me refusing to obey orders, I have one and two things to say to you, young lady…

- No I am not, Hestia. But you must tell dad what you promised this Mebra-Vandrisvia. This promise we failed to fulfil because there were too few of us, and our main mission was to survive and get Ares out.  
- Now, what is this? dad asked and scratched his beard. More tries at Vandrisvian blackmail?  
- No, not really, Hestia said, and then she told about the deal with Mebra-Vandrisvia: intelligence about the monsters guarding the Vandrisvian pantheon in return for restoring Mebra-Vandrisvia in her former position as pantheon head.

- Hestia, dad said. This might sound harsh, but in a war you sometimes have to play foul. Those Vandrisvians tried to steal our mines and then they kidnapped Ares, and would surely had killed him, had you and the rest not appeared on time. Then it matters less if your rescue-mission included fooling an odd Vandrisvian who had been the victim of their internal games.

- But Zeus, Hestia started. I made a promise.  
- Tia, you take your responsibilities a bit too serious these days. No harm in that, you have made Olympos an extremely wealthy pantheon with your business skills, but you need to relax and let your hair down. You need to get out more! By the way, something has changed in the Azelin pantheon. Their farsight-protection field is down.

- Then we can see what these butt-holes are up to! Ares exclaimed.  
- Who cares! Astraea yawned. I'm sweaty and dirty and need a hot tub.  
- I guess I can have a look, Iris said.  
- Me too! Aeolus, Arelis and Phaeton chorused.  
- Tell us all about it! Later! Hermes asked.

- What may have caused that screen to come down? Arcas wondered.  
- Perhaps our attack triggered some kind of palace coup, Helios guessed. With all the gargoyles and other beasts gone, who probably were saving Oxaroros first and foremost, there might be a shift of power down in Vandrisvia.

- So someone killed Oxaroros, you think? Arcas wanted to know.  
- Perhaps. We don't know that for sure yet, Helios said. But I bet Ares, Iris and the rest are going to tell as soon as they find out.  
- Think I'll join then, Artemis smiled scornfully. Seeing the Vandrisvians setting themselves on fire. That'll be almost as fun as if we had done it.  
- And more comfy, Phaeton pointed out.

People were starting to leave, and I held out a hand to Hestia.  
- I'm sorry, Tia. But we had to get out of there.  
- Doesn't matter, Athi. Not anymore, not when we're home and the Azelin pantheon seem to take care of their revolution themselves. Of course one should stay true to promises made, but sometimes I guess one has to let go too. The Vandrisvians seem to be into foul play on more stages than one, and who are we to bother? We're Olympians, we're not into these kind of games. Hope that's a sign of us being more mature.

Hestia continued. She could be talkative sometimes when she tried to make a point, but I had lost attention. I was looking at dad and Hera. Dad had taken Hera's hand and was talking silently to her. And she didn't pull away the way she had done the last years. Instead she smiled slightly before walking with him inside the main building.

Hera and dad didn't return to each other that night though and not the next either, but they were at least talking to each other again. And even if Hera was still cautious with her heart and sleeping by herself in a suite in the main building, dad was visiting her now and then.


	16. Dionysos

_Thanks to Nike Valentino, CyberGoddess, shirozero, Harajuku Girl et al for your support.  
Enters: the god of wine, and this chapter became a bit of a feel-good interlude._ _And for those who wonder - I changed the myths a bit, in fact this is a blend between the two myths about the older and the younger Dionysos._  
**  
Dionysos**

It was just pure luck that I was in Thebe that evening when Semele went up on the roof of her house, poured a can of petrol over her body and set herself on fire. The distress call that went out from her tormented soul must have woken all immortals in the area, but I was the first one on location. Yet too late. The girl died in my arms. I've never been good at healing other people and there was nothing I could do other than trying to dull her pain and listen to her last words:  
- I loved him. But he was... Zeus. The baby... was his. Then her eyes went empty.

- What baby? Oh, dad, what have you done? I stared into the setting sun trying to understand the girls last words. Then I felt something. Life emerging from the dead womans body. A helpless little one trying to stay alive. She had been... pregnant... Or, rather, still was pregnant. I realised that it was I who had to save this child. Teary-eyed I remembered Demeter's lesson about caesarean and how to reach the womb. I had nothing to perform surgery with, but had to trust my telekinesis to open up the belly. Within terrible, gory and sweaty minutes I was able to retrieve the baby boy out of his mothers bleeding womb.

He was alive. And gorgeous! Premature all right, but he was immortal, this little brother of mine and he was going to live. The sun had disappeared beneath the Virgelon mountains, the clouds were purple and the day was as dead as this poor nameless woman who had been my dads lover.  
- Poor little cutie! What a way to start your innocent life, I whispered and he was looking up at me with round eyes with every colour there was in.  
- I'm going to do all I can to help you, I went on. You know, I lost my mother rather early too. Somehow I felt that he understood every word I said.

I was holding the infant thinking over the situation. The obvious thing to do was taking him home. Dad would be more than happy over this little lad. But then there was Hera. She was not her steadiest self at the moment. It had been so hard for her to return to Zeus this time, and I knew that she wasn't trusting him, seeing "affairs" where there weren't any. Or when there were someone elses affairs. Mostly Poseidon's or Apollon's. Hera was vulnerable and would probably be more than hurt if another unknown son of dad turned up.

I wanted to spare Hera that pain, but at the same time my brother needed a good home. Now what was this big sister to do? To start with I took care of the body of the mother, setting the rest of it on fire and wished her a safe travel to Beyond. Then I located her apartment and found out her name and tragic story. The most interesting was her ancestry. Her grandmother was no other than Olympos' own walking disaster - Aphrodite. And the grandfather Irdonan - my Warinikian brother! Their daughter Harmonia had had a lover in Thebe and the result had been Semele, a mortal girl growing up with her dad, knowing nothing about her ancestry.

Thus Semele had been one of these rare mortals carrying an immortal gene. And she had passed that one on to her son. Her and Zeus's affair had obviously been a discrete one, especially after Hera's return. And with Hera back in his arms again, dad had probably soon lost interest in the dark little woman and told her it was over. Poor Semele! Six months into her pregnancy she learned that the man of her dreams was none other than the Divine King who was just using her for entertainment. I don't know what had happened, what dad said and what Semele told him. I don't even know if dad learned that her expected child was his. I only knew that he must have left her in a rather sad state. I was more than mad at him at this moment. Why was he so careless with strangers and mortals?

Anyhow, this boy needed a home! Athens? No, I couldn't keep him without rising suspicions in my family. I had to find someone to take care of the boy. Nike? No, she had more than enough trouble at the moment, even if she most probably would say yes. Then I remembered Ino Zagreus, my head priestess in Korandra. Ino had been asking me for children forever. The thing was that she was born without ovaries and there was nothing I could do to help her to fix that. Demeter or Hera might be able to but I couldn't ask them to help a priestess of mine.

Ino was wonderful with the young novices in the temple and I knew that she would be a good foster-mother to my little brother. So without thinking it over more I packed some of poor Semele's baby stuff and took it with me when I brought the child to Ino.

My decision turned out to be the right one. Ino was overjoyed with the prospect of adopting the baby and thus Dionysos Zagreus got a good home in Korandra, the little picturesque Theban wine farmers' village among the lush green hills of nothern Beothia.

oOoOoOo

A few year later I told dad about his son and he was mad as chaos at me for not bringing the child to Olympos instead.  
- But you know what Hera'd done, dad? I said. She'd been out of here before you could say "bad news". Then you would have a nightmare of a work getting her back, if you'd succeed at all this time. She'd just returned in your arms, she was hurt and not really trusting you. Especially since you gave Eos little Ersa.

- I... What happened to Semele?  
- That's for you to digest! She killed herself. Poured petrol all over her and set herself on fire.  
- She... Athena, I...  
- Yeah! Live with it. And think twice next time you bed mortals!

Dad wasn't happy about that lesson. He took out his anger on me a bit more, urging me to tell him where Dionysos lived, but I refused, telling him it would be cruel to tear up the boy with his roots and serving him the truth as this early age. Better letting him live with his adopted mother and let him know his destiny and faith later, when he was nearing adulthood and able to deal with this. In the end Dad hurled a thunderbolt at a TV set that had done him nothing and moved on.

Freya of Vanahem had given dad a son some years back, Angandar, and he grew up to be a real doppelganger to Zeus. He spent some time at Olympos before moving to America, tempted by all gold and opportunities that was said to be found there. On the way he picked up Harmonia and made her his wife. When dad wasn't interested in continuing his affair with Freya she had turned her attention to some of his sons instead. After a short flirt with Auroanos and then with Apollon she settled for Hermes and gave him a daughter, Auria.

While Angandar had chosen to leave Olympos, Dionysos became the one who stayed. The year he turned 16 I had gone to Korandra and told the boy about his parents and the events related to his birth. His reaction had been quite the opposite of what I had expected. I had feared to be met with accusations and rage for holding back the thruth all those years. Or at least some anger directed at our dad. But Dionysos took it quite easy, only shrugged and let me know that he might stop by and say hello at Olympos one day or another in the future. He was going to America to find gold (another one!).

Dionysos never found any gold. Not the yellow AU-metal at least. He found some grapes instead somewhere on that double-continent which is almost as large as our Central Continent. These weren't like the grapes we cultivated in the Union. Mellow and tender in their taste and better to survive draught or frosty nights, they soon became the grape of choice for the Union farmers. Only some die-hard nostalgians stuck to the old grapes. Dionysos had been 44 when he returned, and we were in the year 172 after Union Foundation. He was handsome in an almost feminine way with dark, long and curly hair and big, dreamy green eyes shadowed by thick, long lashes.

Of course Hera wasn't happy to learn about Dionysos. It didn't matter that he was the result of an old story and that Semele had been a mortal. Hera felt betrayed - again, and was at dad with tears and accusations, but I managed to manoeuvre Dionysos so he didn't have to hear (Hermes could tell him later). Instead Eleithya and I took him for the Grand Tour. And Dionysos was impressed with the hot spring and didn't hesitate for a moment before taking off his clothes and jumping in.

- We had these in Noutaka too, he said. I love them. Heat you up into the bones. Come on in girls! Don't be shy! we're family for Quantum's sake! Thya and I looked at each other and then we too jumped in. And sitting in the hot water we learned all about America and all the marvels there.  
- So much nature, Dionysos said. Strange animals. And so few people. Only a handful of immortals, all of them with names that make your tongue hurt.

- "Your tongue hurt", how do you mean? Eleithya asked.  
- Try to say Tezcatlipoca! Or Quetzalcoatl! Dionysos challenged her.  
- Ketas... Kesta... Ah! Don't these people have nicks?  
- They're a bit more haughty than us. Nicknames are for mortal kids in their opinion.

- Hard to be affectionate then, I stated.  
- Yeah, I noticed that, Dionysos said. I could never... get any rapport with these gods. So even if I enjoyed it over there I started to long for people I could talk to, be with. People like you, who are - normal. So I came here.

- Ha! Then you've come to the wrong place, Dion! I told him. We're hardly normal at Olympos, as you soon'll see.  
- I like you Athena! Dionysos answered. And you too Eleithya. I think I'll love it here.

Soon we came to love Dionysos back. He was fun and frivolous and had a knack for making his surroundings a funnier place. With Dionysos at Olympos you never had to worry about being bored. He always had something going on. He kept arranging parties, one crazier than the other, and he invited all kinds of people, the ones you wouldn't have thought could go together at all. But after a few cups of wine even the most boring Nexus bureaucrat became a jester who danced on the table or tried to flirt down the one nearest.

I saw so much hilarious things and had so many laughs the coming years that I found it hard to understand how we had managed to have fun earlier. But sometimes Dionysos disappeared, could be gone for weeks, months, more than a year once (and we all began to wonder if he would ever come back) and when you asked him you never got any reasonable answer.

Hermes decided to spy on him once and it turned out that our little brother was hanging with mortals, mostly a group of ladies calling themselves Maenads. This band was roaming around the countryside, partying and drinking, scaring the crap out of more sensible mortals. And Dionysos fathered a lot of mortal children with women who came in his way. But Hermes couldn't hide from Dionysos, if he tricked big brother out of his hiding with wine and women or if he simply ripped off his disguise is more than I know. Then Hermes also lost it for a while and spent some time partying around with Dionysos.

It all ended up in a complete mess somewhere outside Thebe, and dad had to go out there and drag both his sons back to Olympos. They got a deserved lecture and at least Hermes had the good sense to hang his head and feel shame. After that it seemed that Dionysos cooled down quite a bit and started to engage in more serious antics including wine and wineries instead. But he still didn't hesitate to throw a good night from time to time.

oOoOoOo

Meanwhile Zephyros and Iris were a happy couple, it seemed that nothing could harm their joy. And Apollon picked up that old relation with Coronis and she got pregnant and had Asklepios. But since Apollon couldn't stop playing around with the Muses Coronis soon tired, took the boy and left. Helios, who had spent so many years as a more or less permanent resident at his sister Selene's Argospantheon, suddenly changed his mind and came back home. Then there were Irdonan and Sakura. They really were the perfect couple, at least in the eyes of us Olympians. But Sakura's mother Amaterasu was of a different opinion.

- She thinks Irdo is too rustic and spoiled, Astraea gossiped one fall evening while Dionysos was letting us taste the latest harvest of wine. She expects a son-in-law to show her more respect.  
- Oh my! Eleithya laughed. Irdo spoiled? Respect? Well, you can't have respect just by asking for it.  
- Amaterasu can be glad she hasn't got someone like Apollon as son in law, Alatheia said.

- I can't see Irdo as spoiled, I groused. Rustic all right, he's not the hand-kissing type like dad. And not that much into fancy and flourishing language. Guess that comes with being in the security detail instead of politics.  
- Amaterasu is Nipponese, Hermes pointed out. For them this game of politeness is important. They can fuzz for ages while we Thessalians just go "yes" or "no" in a matter.  
- But Amaterasu has been living in Thessalia for almost 150 years, I replied. She ought to know how it works here now.

- Athena! Forget Amaterasu now, Dionysos said. She's a charming lady all right, but as all mothers she thinks no one is good enough for her children. Now taste this new grape...  
- Dion, I stopped him, laid my hand on his arm. I had sensed something more than the usual glee in his aura. Sit down a bit!  
- Oh, no, I got to...  
- Dion! Something's not right. What is it?

Dion hesitated a second. Then he sat down among us and hid his face in his hands. He sighed and looked at us.  
- It's Aura.  
- Major Cassiopeia's daughter? Eleithya asked and Dionysos nodded.  
- And she doesn't approve of you?  
- Nope, none of her parents do. Lelantus threatened to beat the daylight out of me if I ever came near his daughter again. But I guess I have myself to blame.

- Why? Astraea asked and stirred her glass.  
- Because I... She caught me when I was... When I and Aphrodite were... Dionysos shrugged and emptied the nearest glass, which happened to be mine.  
- Little brother, that was a stupid thing to do, Hermes said and laid his arm around Dion's shoulders. Not that I haven't done the same mistake myself. Aphrodite turns the heads of all the men she meets. As well as other body parts. Then she has a good time and before you know it she's off.

- She does that? Dionysos mumbled and looked down in his now empty glass.  
- She sure does, Auroanos replied. And we blokes have all fallen for it. You lost Aura this time, little brother. But let that be a lesson for you. And besides, you might get a second chance with Aura. In a couple of decades or so. That's the charm with immortality. There's always a second chance.

No, Aphrodite hadn't matured a bit, she still cheated upon poor Hephaistos with each and every god she met and if that wasn't enough, she was having a ball with mortal men too. But after poor Dionysos Aphrie apparently tired of the Ekarantannian collection of gods and ventured down to Arcadia and found herself some god called Krios and stayed there for a while.

oOoOoOo

Six years later Aphrodite returned to Olympos being pregnant. But the father was not this Krios, it was Poseidon! When Krios had learned about that he had shown Aphrodite the door.

I entered the Large Livingroom to find her with her arms around Astraea, red-eyed and sobbing:  
- But I really loved him!  
- Then why did you lay together with Poseidon? Astraea asked.  
- I... I don't know... He was there, and I...

I stared at Aphrodite with contempt in my eyes, saying:  
- Suit yourself then. If you were so much in love with this Krios as you say, you shouldn't have betrayed him. By the way, do you remember a man called Hephaistos? You married him. Rings a bell?  
- Let her be, Athena! Astraea was saying.  
- With pleasure, I said and started to leave.

- Your old crone! Aphrodite screamed behind me. You're just pouting because you can't get laid. With real power gods that is. Those Athenian minions don't count. They just take you for power.

I really shouldn't care but I couldn't help answering back:  
- Perhaps they take me for power. What do I care, I'm still enjoying myself. At least no-one takes you for power, because you don't have any.  
- Let her be! Astraea repeated herself and I did, walked out of the room and went out in the courtyard to Artemis, Apollon and Hermes and spilled my gossip instead.

If Aphrodite had expected to find comfort with Ares she became disappointed. Ares had recently been spending time with Enyo, a goddess working with him in the Union Security Corps. She's another daughter Irdo got before he hooked up with Sakura. So Aphrie suddenly remembered that she had a husband, and ended up banging at the door to his workshop. And the ever-so-kind Hephaistos let her in and took her in his arms, forgiving her for the umpteenth time, even sort of adopted poor, unwanted Herophilos when he came around. I always thought Heph deserved someone better.

At the same time dad was faithfully loving his wife and Hera got pregnant again and had Caeros, a big boy with thick, dark hair. He grew up to become a witty and fun god who more or less took over Hermes' role as the trickster of Olympos.


	17. Hercules

**Hercules**

Upon the first look Dionysos and Hercules seemed very much like the total opposites. But they had one thing in common (beside their dad, I mean) - and that was a mortal mother. Alkmene Akrisian was also a mortal who passed on an immortal gene to Hercules.

First time I met Hercules I had no idea that he was another brother. At that time he seemed just a rowdy and happy-go-lucky immortal, content with partying all night long and working for others and for an income that provided him with his worry-less life. He lived in Doria, employed by the goddess Oshera, a granddaughter to the Hyperpantheon politician Kandrios of Elesios.

Doria was not the safest place back then. Located next to the wastelands of Merioly, where the Titans had lived (and some still dwelled, according to certain sources) it was haunted by outlaws raiding the south-east plains and there were rumours of man-eating mutant monsters who had lone wanderers for supper. The radiation inside of Merioly, caused by Chronos' nuclear blasts, was said to have caused these mutations. I didn't believe in them though, all I knew about biology and zoology went against the existence of such beings.

But the peasants of Doria didn't know crap about biology and zoology beyond planting their fields and having their cattle to mate, and they were scared sick by these creatures. So Hercules led a group of "monster-polices" who were to keep South Doria safe. They were tracing down whatever was hiding in the mountains of Aramindor, bordering on Merioly.

In the year 181 my maternal brother Irdonan put me in contact with Hercules, whose crew was in need of better material for their work. I met an exciting man who was almost as good at telling stories as hunting down rogues. Later on he did admit that he spiced some of the storied up quite a bit, especially the one with the "hell hound". But then it had become too late. His stories had been imprinted in peoples minds and were accepted as facts.

Hephaistos and I went to work, and came up with small stealth helicopters, tiny and smart guns and a lot of other gadgets. One of the best things was goggles making it possible to see in the dark, a rare natural trait only to be found among immortals otherwise. Then there were equipment for tracing heat (living beings), sturdier cameras, survival clothes and parachutes. But our tries to create a telepathy sender/receiver were without success. The mortals would have to rely on walkie-talkies and the few immortals around.

While Hercules' team was learning to use these new tools I socialised a bit with this dark-blond, tall and athletic Dorian god, asking him about his background. In a way he reminded me of Ares.  
- I'm surpriseling, he told. Immortal born by mortal parents. Passed on immortal genes to me.  
- I know. That's a rare breed. I only know of three: Europa of Minoia, Orion of Attica and the Hyperpantheon delegate Euradan of Kikali.

- I just wonder where that gene may come from. I have no known immortal ancestors.  
- Can've been in the DNA for generations and generations.  
- My brother Iphicles got the short straw, Hercules went on. He's mortal as anyone.  
- These things happens. My stepmother Hera once said... What's the matter? I looked at the young policeman who suddenly was clenching his fists, flicker of rage in his ocean blue eyes.  
- Oh, nothing. Just something that stroke at the outer parts of my mind. Now, here the crew's coming, let's go see how they did.

Hercules had changed subject and started to busy himself with his crew, but something had angered him. Something with Hera? No, I couldn't think of anything. Probably it was the fact that his brother was mortal. I had met Iphicles Akrisian earlier. He was short, dark and thin, with prematurely graying hair and a pointed chin. A cheerful and charming man too with a battery of jokes he gladly littered every conversation with. Not taken their good-natured personalities in mind it was impossible to tell that these men were brothers.

000

I forgot those thoughts until about a year later, when I brought up Hercules in a discussion at Olympos regarding Union Security. We were talking material and equipments for tracing dangers and I told about the work Hephaistos and I had done for young Hercules and his troops.  
- Is this the Hercules with the fancy stories? Ares wanted to know.  
- About the hydra and stuff, yes it's him.  
- He's full of bragging crap, Ares said.

- That's not the point, Ares, I told my brother. He and his troops were testing those things for us last year and they've been using them since. They're very pleased with...  
- So what game have they caught? Birds with iron feathers? Immortal lions? Or perhaps a fire-breathing bull big as an elephant?  
- Oh, come on, Ares! They managed to catch the bandit queen Hippolytia. And...

- Wait a moment, dad interrupted. What was his name again?  
- Hercules. Of mortal families Akrisian/Alcides. Being a surpriseling he still uses the name Alcides sometimes. But he's...  
- I'd like to meet him, dad said. Can you arrange that, Athena?  
- But he's absolutely nothing...  
- Shut up, Ares! Irdonan cut him off.

Four days later I brought Hercules to Olympos, and the next day we learned that he was family. Zeus had spent some time with Oshera of Doria 24 years ago, and her attendant Alkmene Akrisian had been "thrown in as a bonus". The result had been the brave and hardworking police officer Hercules Alcides. The surpriseling thing was apparently wrong. This also explained the big difference in looks between him and his half-brother Iphicles Akrisian. Hercules looked more like Zeus. And us.

000

- I did what? Hera was staring at Hercules with an expression somewhere between consternation and surprise.  
- You tried to kill me. And as if that wasn't enough, you went after my family! Killing Megara, my pregnant fiancée.  
- Who told you such a thing?

- Who else could it be? You hated me from the very beginning because I was my fathers son. But not with you! You wanted to get rid of me, and when you couldn't do that yourself you had me sent into Merioly hoping that either the radiation or the mutants there would kill me.  
- Now mister big mouth! If you have any idea who I am, what I can do if I really want to kill someone, you would be more careful when you select your words, Hercules!

- There's no secret that you've hated all Zeus' children except for your own. So come get me, old hag! And try it fast, you might only get one chance to even come near me!  
- All right, brat! If you want to challenge me, I'm all in!  
- Now wait a moment here, Zeus tried, but for once no one was hearing him.  
- Fine! Pick place, hour and weapon, that's the mercy I'm going to give you.  
- Right here, right now, and bare hands! I'll spank your ass, you hear me!

- We hear you all right, mum, someone was suddenly saying behind me. Auroanos. Now, what's this nonsense about? I can't believe the Queen of the Union and the immortal Chief of defence of Doria are going into a fist fight! In the Olympos' main building!  
- Auroanos! You stay out of this! his mother ordered him.  
- No I'm not. Zeus' and Hera's son did a long, gracious leap and landed between his furious mother and his likewise raging brother. I want to know what caused this insanity. Why two sensible persons suddenly have decided to use violence against each other. I mean, it can't be Hercules' amazing mutant tales.

- Hercules accuses me of murdering his fiancée, and the attempted murder of himself, Hera exclaimed.  
- On what ground? Auroanos asked.  
- Yes, that's what I also want to know, Hera went on.  
- I was attacked by a rattlesnake when I was an infant... Hercules began.  
- And that should be my doing? Hera spat.

- This is getting nowhere, I said. Let's hear Hercules' story. The short version. What happened. Then Hercules' reason for believing Hera was behind. And let the man finish talking. Or else we'll never know why he thinks Hera was into these atrocities.  
- Think? I know...

- Hercules! Just your story, dad said. This time he was heard all right. Hercules started all over with the snake and went on:

- It killed my nurse and almost got my twin brother Iphicles, but I tipped over the baby-crib, squashing it. Then there were other events: a truck almost running over me and a motorbike with no brakes. It went on from there. Being 14 I was hiking with my best friend when our tent caught fire while we slept. I got out but Hirodan never made it. And when I turned 16 and joined the police academy there were two real bad incidents involving guns. But then I knew that I was immortal and invulnerable to these things. Fortunately enough my enemies seemed to have no clue.

- Interesting, Auroanos was saying. Now, don't you see that this testimony just let Hera off the hook. If she'd been the one after you she would have known your status as an immortal, and not gone for misfiring guns.  
- Thanks, Auro, Hera mumbled.  
- Hera might've known, Hercules went on unyielding. But perhaps her minions didn't have the whole story.

- And why should I've kept such an important thing as you being immortal from "my minions"? Hera asked with a sarcastic laugh.  
- Because if anything went wrong, you wanted to be sure you came off with clean hands, Hercules answered.  
- And this Megara, how should I perhaps have killed her? Another gun?  
- Nope. The circus! A jaguar that was let out of its cage killed Megara.

- But this is preposterous, Hera said. Why should I use a jaguar to kill someone?  
- Coming off with clean hands again, Hercules went on. Taking mind control over that beast, and sending it against Megara. Probably to drive me mad. Don't forget I'm a police officer, I know how to draw conclusions!  
- You're more of a paranoid, Hera scorned.

- That still doesn't answer why Hercules thinks Hera was behind those accidents, Auro insisted. I still see them as accidents, not attempted murders. Well, maybe that tent. I want to hear a real reason for your suspicion here, Hercules, not some nonsense about "she hated me bla bla bla".

- I was warned by Oshera of Doria, a friend I hold in highest regard. Oshera told me about her niece, the goddess Ogarana of Tannishar. One night Ogarana came to Oshera for advice. She told that her pantheon head Nak... something had been approached by a deity who offered money to kill a bastard son of Zeus. Ogarana had been given the job. Ogarana wasn't a killer of gods, but she didn't dare to disobey her stepfather, the pantheon head of Tannishar.

- Ogarana of Tannishar! said Ares who had been oddly quiet up until now. She's a suspected murderer of mortals, but we haven't found any proof against the bitch. Go on, Herc! What did you do?  
- Upon hearing this Oshera feared it might be me Ogarana was out to get. So I found Ogarana who after some persuasion or the rogue kind told me I was the supposed victim and that she was acting on Hera's behalf.  
- She confessed? I asked. And blamed Hera? And you didn't look for a bluff?  
- No, because she appeared sincere. After all she didn't want me to break her second arm and keep blocking her healing abilities.

Hera was pale when Hercules had finished, but Zeus was even paler. Ares and Auroanos was staring at their parents.  
- Now what's hidden behind this, Auroanos asked?  
- Naktraon, Hera said.  
- Who? Hercules, Auroanos and I were saying at the same time.

- The asshole of Arantonak, said Ares. Another viceguy we haven't been able to nail!  
- It's this bastards revenge over my Chair Office. Can't believe he waited so long. Naktraon of Tannishar, former radical Hyp delegate of Ilaouda. Cybele's precursor in that seat. He's the pantheon head of Tannishar in Arantonak now. Ogarana is his wife Arethra's daughter.  
- But what... ? Auroanos started.

- A political plot that backfired, dad said. The radicals were trying to set up the Olympos and having a libertarian, Eridanus, elected. Instead Hera saw her chance and grabbed the position. In the aftermaths Naktraon lost his Hyperpantheon seat. I suspected that he would come after any of us, probably Hera, and kept him under surveillance for some decades. Then came more important things to keep my agents on, and I more or less forgot about the old radical.

- Isn't it a bit far-fetched trying to kill Hercules to get at Hera? Auroanos asked.  
- The seed planted in the mind of Oshera was the key, dad answered. Oshera would immediately suspect Hera when something happened to Hercules, and act upon these suspicions. And this might eventually lead to the downfall of Hera. Or so Naktraon hoped.  
- Such a coward, sending poor Ogarana to do his filthy business! I commented.

- Right, dad said. To make sure this isn't pure speculations, Ares, take Irdonan with you and check Naktraon out! I want to know if he's really stupid enough to be out to get both my beloved wife and one of my sons.  
- You still want to spank me? Hercules asked dads wife.  
- I think I'll pass on that, Hera replied. At least until I've seen proofs that the real crook in this business is bad old Naktraon.

To cut a long story short, Ares and Irdo went to see Naktraon of Tannishar. Ares used his sneaky telepathic abilities to find out that dad had been right about this bandit king and his scheming. Except on one point. Hercules had been more than a pawn in the game.  
- Herc discovered some rogue businesses Naktraon was involved in in Keryneia, Irdo told. So he was in fact the primary target. Hera was only the bonus so to say.  
- Thanks, said Hera with a sarcastic voice, for being a bonus.

- I thank you too, brothers! Hercules said and cast a glance at Hera. For setting things straight.  
- You're welcome, Ares smiled, looking wicked. Wasn't exactly a problem.  
- Didn't really think so, Hercules answered. You guys look like you've had a real good time scaring the panties off the Tannishar head.

- But the things happening in Hercules' youth? I asked. The tent? The shooting accidents?  
- Were just accidents, Irdonan said. Well, perhaps not the tent, but we'll never knew who or what was behind that now. And because of them Hercules thought the threat against him was of an older date and misinterpreted the situation. Exactly what Naktraon of Tannishar wanted. He might be a crook, but he's no fool.

- Truce, Hera? Hercules held out his big hand. Hera hesitated a second or two before taking it.  
- Truce, Hercules, she said. But it would take years before these two started to look at each other without suspicion in their minds.

000

Cleopatra became the last Olympian of that kind for quite some time. She was the daughter of Diophaessa of Salmydessos, another member of the Union Nexus Hyperpantheon. (It seems like all Hyp women end up in bed with Zeus sooner or later, like it comes with the work-description.) And Cleo arrived at Olympos in a way very similar to Hermes. But while the advent of Hermes caused Hera to temporarily separate from dad, it was actually Hera who took the 5 year old girl up home and demanded that dad accepted his responsibility and gave the girl a home.

Just as in the case with Hermes, there was a new man of Diophaessa causing trouble. Diophaessa had fallen for Eiradan, son of the Atlantean pantheon-head Atle, and was leaving the Hyperpantheon to move to Atlantis with her new love. And poor Cleopatra was devastated. She was not getting along with the Atlantean god, so she ran away from home, seeking to enter Olympos.

But without having the secret codes protecting us from unwelcome visitors (something that has been necessary since aeroplanes became common and we weren't protected by the steep mountain-walls anymore) she couldn't enter and ended up hiding in a temple of Hera located in Danakeia.

Hera found Cleopatra, got her miserable story and decided to act upon it. She rose quite a few eye-brows when she arrived up home just before dinner, with a shy little girl with chocolate-skin and scared, dark eyes. As usual, we were gathering in the lounge-bar outside the dining room, Hebe excelling in making drinks.  
- I thought she was going to be furious over Cleopatra's existence! Irdonan whispered.  
- It's not the kids fault, Sakura replied.

- Yeah, that's old news, Eleithya turned her head. But mum has never... I'm surprised at this behaviour, remembering earlier "events" of dad.

- Thya, mum had a nightmare of an outburst at dad about both Angandar and Dionysos. Not to mention Hercules, Auroanos answered his sister while sipping on his dancing-furie. And who knows what mum's going to say to dad tonight, when they're alone. She hasn't changed a bit. Look at her body-language, she's upset with dad for having yet another child with yet another Hyp goddess. But she's mad at Diophaessa as well for not caring more for her child. When the mother cops out the father has to step in, that's her reasoning.  
- I bet my best sword upon that we'll be hearing some screaming and yelling between mum and dad tonight, Ares cut in.  
- I don't think I'll hold against, big brother, Auro replied.

- And dad will step in, Artemis confirmed. He has never walked out on an immortal child of his. Not from the day he refused to let Leto leave with me and Ollie.  
- I think taking up Cleopatra is also a way of showing dad that she's pissed, Alatheia reasoned. Like "Look what happens when you think with your private parts. A little unwanted girl - and I have to take care of her." Working on making dad feeling guilty.  
- Like he ever has over his affairs, Auro shrugged.


	18. The threat from old times

**The threat from old times**

In the year 212 the first warning signals came. There were few who took them seriously. Most people didn't see, or didn't want to see that all wasn't well in our realm. That there were terrible beasts out there that weren't supposed to be around. Creatures living in the wildernesses outside the Union and threatening the outskirts of our commonwealth. They were nothing like lingering Titans or the things Hercules had met in Merioly. They were far worse.

These were monsters thought to be extinguished. Gaianes, the precursors of the Titan race. Or, so was our first assumption. But those - things - referred to as Giants by those who had encountered them - bore only slight resemblances to the Gaianes. They were more like defect freak-versions of this old race of large people.  
- And they are out to get us Homo Sapiens, Thor of the pantheon Valhalla told in the first Open Forum of 212.

An Open Forum is a gathering of immortals with traditions hailing from before the foundation of the Union. It's open to all Immortals in the Union and about debates concerning everything involving the rule of the Union. Even if I seldom involve myself in politics I always try to visit these forums. Now I was there when the big, redheaded Norseman told about defending the Northern borders from these intruders who came in hordes from the east, attacking the cities of Nakarela and Alfhem, loathing and killing. Thor was met with disbelieve and even ridicule the very same way Hercules had been met 20 years earlier.

- They're only outlaws, Circe of Alezya stated. Terrorists and bandits, nothing to involve the whole Immortal Nation in. You up there deal with them! We have more important things on the agenda. If you can't do it yourself, ask some of the old warrior gods to come up there and take care of your bandits! If you're nice enough, they might even bother. But don't expect us to pay what it costs.  
- If we don't stop them they will soon be hoarding the rest of the continent, perhaps even reaching your island, Lady Circe, Thor warned in vain.

But while Thor was bullied by people like Circe and Xenon of Thessalia-Ekarantanni, who considered the Norse a crybaby, Hercules went over to dad and talked to him. He was taking the threat seriously, and he has an eight sense when it comes to crooks of all kinds. So the next day Thor and the Valhalla delegate Scade met with dad, Artemis and the Security Council. After the meeting Thor was invited up to Olympos to retell his story in a more casual gathering.

Hebe was making us drinks as usual. She has become really skilled over the years. Always remembering what everybody prefer, you don't even have to ask her, always pouring the right proportions to everyone. And when you want something new and exciting and ask her "surprise me", she can always make something that fits your mood and preferences. Don't ask me how she does it, she just does. Even this endless flow of visiting guests get what they want.

Thor got something strong in a tiny glass, which he swept down, rolled his eyes and then smiled flirtingly at Hebe, who was not impressed.  
- Now what's all this about, Gaianes? Irdonan asked the visitor, sitting down next to me and opposite of Thor.  
- Giants. They aren't mere mortal bandits. Or even immortal ditto, Thor started. They are large, strong, and terrifying to look upon. And most of all mean. And it seems to be more of them every year.

- Show them the sketches! Artemis told the Norse. He reached for his briefcase and took out some sheets of paper. Upon them were drawings of ugly creatures looking like miss-configured Titans. Like those atrocities I used to invent when I was drawing villains as a little girl.  
- My squire Aleph drew them after an encounter in Hedwas, Thor explained.

- Nice gentlemen, Astraea joked. Can you set me up for a date with that one with hairy ears and a ring through his nipple, Thor? Spread laughter could be heard around the table.  
- I saw him first, Ersa piped up. More laughter.  
- Aren't there any ladies available? Phaeton asked.

- This is nothing to kid about, Thor stated. These creatures are dangerous. They are said to make hides of human skin. For instance.  
- Dickheads! Ersa was still in a joking mode. That hardly warms.  
- Perhaps Ea can warm them better, Ares chuckled.

- Anyway, Hercules brought the conversation back to business, they look like nightmares, that much is true. But I believe their mere appearance has scared away enough trappers or other outmark dwellers who really should be able to defend themselves against those creatures. If we deal with them the way we should, we'll be able to root them out just like with the last Titans back in the 150-ies.  
- Like how? Hebe asked while serving Hercules his beer. Nuking them?  
- Nah, a few bullets in the gut should be enough.

Hercules might have sounded self assured and hard that time, but he ended up being wrong about these Giants.

O0O0O

A group of nine immortals led by Ares followed Thor to the north to check out the Giants. Eight returned. Ares told us that they had encountered a band of Giants in the mountains of Selvaren, a cold, barren province with winter most of the year, and large glaciers covering a large part of the territory. The Giants had been about 30 and the fight hadbeen hard and long. When it finally ended with 23 Giants dead and the rest running away, Ares had found the god Kirakun dead. He was the son of Xenon of Thessalia-Ekarantanni. So much for Thor being a crybaby!

The next event was Apollon's vision. My older brother has a rare ability to see in the future. One day when he sighted he caught the glimpse of something terrible:  
- I saw the Nexus building in ruins, he said. Ekarantanni was burning. The capital city was under attack, and Immortals were falling all around me.

- When might this happen? dad asked with a worried look.  
- Within ten years, Apollon told. Probably sooner.  
- And how great the risk?  
- Hard to say. I'd range the risk of imminent danger to 60-75 percent. The outcome can be better or worse than in my sighting, but hardly much different from what I saw.

- How can we prevent such an attack? Hestia wanted to know.  
- By starting preparation for a defence, dad said. Starting immediately. If the time span is only ten years...  
- Or less, Apollon cut in.  
- ...we don't have much time. We have to start as soon as possible. It's necessary that all get to know the seriousness of the situation. Tonight I'll gather the Olympos. And tomorrow I'm going to address the Nexus.

- Did you see who the attackers were? I asked Apollon.  
- No, but they were plenty. And lethal.  
- Giants? Ares asked.  
- I don't know. I couldn't see.  
- What are the other possible outcomes? Hestia asked.  
- Too early to tell. Apollon shook his head.

I leaned over and gave Apollon a big hug, and I realised he was shaking with terror.  
- Athena, my brother said. I don't want this to happen. I don't want it to end this way.  
- It won't, Ollie-lad! I promise you it won't!  
- Athi's right, I could hear Ares behind me. We're going to beat the puke out of these uglygores before they even come near 'Tanni.

- Right, Ares, dad said. That's exactly what we're going to do. But to accomplish that we're going to turn this pantheon into a Guild of defenders. And we will start tomorrow. Right after my Nexus address.  
- Our pantheon? I asked. What about all the rest of the Thessalian immortals?  
- They'll be next. When you have mastered the art of war, you're going to teach them.  
- We're with you, Great Zeus! Ares rose and banged his right fist to his chest. I rolled my eyes. Always so over-dramatic this brother of mine.

O0O0O

Ares and I were the only ones left. All the rest of our dear sisters and brothers and other co-pantheonites had left. Dad put his hands to his hips and sighed heavily.

- I guess I'll have to use another method. This isn't working. Then he mindcalled: _You get back here! Every single one. This is hard business now. It's a threat against our very existence I'm talking about. And everybody is going to do his or her duty!_

Reluctantly the others were starting to return.  
- But we we're not warriors, Alatheia said with an awkward look upon her face.  
- No, none of you are, dad answered her. Because it hasn't been a war in your lifetime. Not counting these jungle skirmishes against Vandrisvia. But that doesn't mean that war can't come. According to Apollon's vision there will be one. In less than ten years. And it might turn out as terrible as the Titan years. Preparations will be essential. Including training you, children. And including coordinating with the other pantheons, so the enemy can't take us out one at a time the way the Titans did with our precursors.

- So this is for real then? Ersa asked.  
- You can bet your pretty curls upon that, sis, Ares replied.

- You are to learn to use the sword! Dad told us.  
Hera was training us, pushing us hard. The fencing lessons I had taken back in my teens were nothing compared to this. Hera meant business. I don't know how many times she wounded me or had the tip of her iron against my throat. And she was yelling at Hermes to use more force behind his strikes and not just jumping around in the air. Hercules was using all his strength to force Dionysos backwards, but suddenly the little sommelier pretended to be falling and threw up some sand in the eyes of his half-brother. And eventually I defeated Hera. More by brute force than skill to be honest.

- You are to learn to use the gun! Dad told us.  
Hestia was training us this time, and she had put up human-silhouetted cardboard-on-wood dolls at the end of the turf. And did we hit everything but these dolls! Astraios, who happened to pass beyond the dolls got a bullet in his butt. That provoked some laughter, but eventually all of us save for Dionysos became rather good at it. Alatheia became the master, there was something with her way of focusing that made her learn fast and becoming very accurate. Artemis and Apollon were rather good too, even if the restless Apollon was using a gazillion of excuses to not having to partake.  
- And I still prefer the bow, Artemis told me in confidence.

- You are to learn to use your hands and feet! Dad told us.  
These classes were taught by Helios. And he was no sunshine boy this time. We were all lazy bums who had grown stuck in the TV sofa, according to him. We learned to kick, hit, box and where the weak points of a human body are located. Eyes, guts, men's genitals et cetera. Ares and Hercules loved these classes and Eleithya and Phaeton hated them. Eventually I found out that this was my thing too. I seemed to have some hidden strength and speed that made me surprising my adversaries more than once.

- You are to learn hyper focus and self-defence! Dad told us.  
These were his classes. They started with theory. Dad told about the connection between the physical and the spiritual body and how they are linked and can be made to work closely together. Dad told us about inner energy-reserves, where the most powerful is the kundalini force resting in the double-point of the navel. The kundalini can be released to provide the body with tremendous strength when needed. We were also told about how the chakras work and how you can use them to tap external sources of power.

Das taught us soul-breathing, a useful tool to overcome stress and rage and keep yourself cool and calculating during battle situations. We learned medi-focus, which lets you redirect a part of your conscious mind to quicken the healing of wounds, without losing attention to the battle. Then he told us about hypersight - a way of expanding your mind to be aware of both the main direction of a battle and all the minor details in your surrounding. It can be used as a good way to foresee the moves of the enemy before he or she actually does them.

Most important of all, he taught us the Aegis-technique. This is his own invention, something he had mastered during the Titan wars. It's a way of strengthening your natural shielding powers tenfolds of times. The Aegis can also be used to extend shielding to involve other people or to merge it with your co-fighters so all become hidden behind a large, multidimensional, spiritophysical force-field much stronger than the ordinary shielding traits immortals naturally have.  
- Master the Aegis, dad told us, and you're all going to be de facto invulnerable.

It was Auroanos, Alatheia and I who became the best ones at this technique. We were practising with weapons and hyper-shielding long after the others had given up.

Some of us have other traits useful in war, and we got special training. Auroanos, Sakura, Caeros and I have inherited dads electrokinetical powers and we spent a couple of weeks hurling thunderbolts at each other and at other things and shortcutting the electricity at Olympos (it was always someone hitting the fuse station). Mastering this power is harder than you might think. It isn't just about blasting away lightnings in the general direction of your opponent. Usually you miss and set fire on a tree or something instead.

What you had to do is concentrating on the plus and minus poles, trying to move the negative poles as fast and as accurate as possible in the direction of your opponent. Then you fire, and all the electrons are heading for the negative poles to try to restore the balance. Hitting a moving target is terrible, but eventually I managed to blast dad down, setting his tunic on fire.

- All right, Athena, he was saying, taking off his ruined garment. That's a good start.  
- A good start?! Hey dad, Come on! I scorched you.  
- And I was hardly creeping through the air. Next time I'll move faster and then faster again.  
- But I can't...  
- Yes, you can. Otherwise I wouldn't bother teaching you this. Come on, daughter! Focus again.

I was so over it when I got inside that night, I felt like I didn't want to see a thunderbolt again. I, who used to think it was cool playing with sparks between my fingers or between metal objects. Little did I know that my father had been paying attention to these stunts as well as my younger sisters and brothers, and that he expected me to become a thundering deity like himself.

In spite of the older gods hard rule, some of us never really mastered this with war craft. Hephaistos for instance. He took his gun apart instead, saying:  
- I can make this one more accurate. Prevent it from jamming all the time. But let me off the hook when it comes to shooting.

He was assigned to communications and logistics instead, together with Ersa, Persephone, Astraios and Eos. Ares was grumbling about them being cowards, but Hera told him that it was not about that.  
- Everyone can't be good at everything. Who is it that always sneaks away on karaoke nights for instance?  
- Hera, you can't compare karaoke to defending the Union, Irdonan said.

- Yes I can - when talking about skills, Hera said. And we're going to need back-office defenders too. People who can hold up the communication lines, see to it that everyone gets armed and make sure the wounded get healed. We had those people back in the Order too. Like Argus, Themis, Akita and Gernellon. People who always were there to receive us when we came home. Who had food ready and took care of those wounded.


	19. Serious War Preparations

**Serious War Preparations**

The years rolled on and so did our war preparations. We Olympians had no clue where this was really heading, how severe the danger really was. The only thing we knew was that we were facing something no one had any earlier experience of. According to dad not even the Titan Wars applied. And dad was scared, although he didn't show it of course. On the outside he was his usual secure and strong self. But for those who knew him it was obvious that the wrinkled brows came from worries and that the tired haze in his eyes came from loss of sleep. But that sure didn't stop him from urging and encouraging us all to do our best, to reach out and help us and steady us when we wavered in our faith. And I was even more proud of being a daughter of Zeus now than ever during those "good" years.

Poseidon and Iris were in charge of the "war games", in which we split up in teams and battled, usually way out over the Central Ocean, to not worry any mortals. I ended up leading the blue team most of the time, came up with strategic plots that had the reds taken aghast plenty of times. Even Poseidon was impressed, asking me where I had learned those skills.  
- You've been studying some of those old tactic files of Zeus's?  
- Honestly yes. But not until I found out that I was good at this and wanted to know more.

In fact "The Zeus files" was something Hera had told me about when I had had the reds cornered for the umpteenth time, making the red leader Ares really frustrated. Dad was too busy with all the planning and preparations. After his initial months of training us, he had focused on the Divine King's rather different work these days. Including a large propaganda plot to keep the mortals from worrying their butts off. They were to learn that we really were almighty and invincible and that we couldn't fail.

- But if we fail! Then your propaganda will backfire, Zeus, Demeter said.  
- If we fail that would be one of the lesser things to worry about, dad answered her. If we don't employ this plot we will have panic down in the streets of 'Tanni. A panic to spread like a wild fire all over the Union. We can't afford that now. Not both a panic and a threat from outside. The mortals must believe in us. On top of that I'm really convinced that we're going to make it. Haven't you seen these children of mine? They're good. In less than two years they're almost on the level with our old Order.

- But they are so few, brother o' mine.  
- They won't have to fight alone. They are only the starting nodes. In fact I want all Union deities to be able to defend him- or herself as well as mortals seeking protection. The first step is to have the old Order reawaked. And I want to put you in charge of that, DeeDee! Poseidon will be in charge of collecting gods from the other guerrillas, like the Black Knights, The East-East, the Hundred Handeds et cetera.

- I don't really know who they were, Poseidon said.  
- Don't worry, dad assured. I have them all on file.  
- Isn't there anything you don't have on file, Zeus? Oreynadan asked.  
- A failsafe way to get rid of the Giants is what I don't have on file.

Zeus had his agents gathering intelligence on the Giants. These agents were deities I hardly knew, people like Kratos and Bia. Mostly because they often were away, running sneaky errands of dad. Someone called Melete followed a Giant band right into their realm on the tundras of Outgard and Isibiria, and came back with freaky stories that wandered around the Immortal Nation several times and left a lot of us shit-scared.

0O0O0

Most of the deities gathering in the Golden Hall of the Nexus were gods and goddesses I knew from way different occasions. That they had something in common was nothing I had thought about - until now. I met Nike's father Nias for the first time in decades. He came together with his new wife Kaori. I also met and touched hands with Eiara, who once had loved Irdonan and thus became mother to Ares' lover Enyo. Eiara introduced me to Astidera, legendary leader of the hundred-handeds and Kanaton, another legend who saved the life of my mother once, years before she met Zeus.

There were also people who visit Olympos more or less regularly, like Paladin and Nyx, Asteria, Iapetos and Clymene, Elthaeon and Kallirhoe, Amon, Isis and Osiris, Eurynome, Orion. On top of that some immortals that I only knew by name, like Odin, father of Thor and Akaraia, pantheon head of Plenitaa. Plenitaa is the southernmost of the grand pantheons and also the largest, with more than 50 members. Gods who mostly kept to themselves.

Izanagi, Sakura's grandfather, was also there and Kuri dragged a reluctant Irdo off to meet him. But contrary to his daughter Amaterasu, Izanagi seemed to really approve of Irdonan. And Ares got along with Eiara, who's war stories seemed to impress him. At the same time I was talking to Kanaton and his son Chrysandros and had a real good time doing that. Both father and son were intelligent and educated and they had both encountered the Giants and had interesting knowledge about them.  
- You must share all this you know about these beasts, I asked them. It's probably the most useful information any of us have.

Soon after that dad entered the podium together with Hera, Demeter and Poseidon and all went quite. Dad started by greeting the gathering and reminding us of the reason why we were here.  
- I see nothing wrong in hugs and laughter, a lot of you haven't meet in ages. There are faces here I haven't seen in more than 200 years. Sometimes I can't believe how fast time passes. But if we want to look forward to a generous amount of more centuries we must face these Giants who threaten the borders of our realm. And we must face them soon. This is why I have called you all to come here.

All of you fought bravely against the Titans and were surely hoping that you had done more than your duty to defend our race. But the Faithes call you again, immortals of the Union. My son Apollon had a vision of a ruined Nexus and an Ekarantanni on fire. To prevent this from happening, to prevent chaos from reappearing in this world we must come together to defend the peace we have worked so hard to build.

Dad went on with what he knew about the Giants, their strengths and weak points, where they dwelled and how many they were assumed to be. The biggest danger was their number. Zeus' agent Zelos had calculated them to be about 200 000. Comparing that to 653 immortals was scary. On the other hand - we were defending what we believed in, a lot of the deities in here had been fighting in the old war and we had other valuable traits than sheer strength. But our largest advantage was our brains. We were by far more intelligent than these strange remnants of an older specie.

Eventually Zeus's speech had managed to turn even the most skeptic god into believing that this could be done. That we could win over these monsters. The next Zeus did was urging all in here to enlist and train all gods and goddesses who had even the slightest chance to make a difference in this war. To teach them how to fight and survive. After that there was room for questions and debate, a debate that lasted long into the night. It was somehow like on an open forum, but with a bit more order than these sometimes rather chaotic events.

0O0O0

Later in the night and back up home, I was sitting together with a handful co-pantheonites in the elegant living-room at Dad and Hera's place and talking over the event.  
- I thought it worked rather fine, Helios said. Most of the immortals we met today seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation.  
- Yes, dad said, but that was only to be expected. These are the old gods. The gods who took part in the Titan wars. They know that this threat is for real. It's quite different with all those YUGI's. They only shrug and tell us to calm down and stick to our own business.

- Yugis? Poseidon was asking.  
- Young Urban Generic Immortal, dad explained. Hermes invented that expression a year back to describe a certain kind of frivolous immortals, not bothering with taking responsibility as gods. Instead they're spending their life with endless partying and excesses in luxury, usually paid for by their parents. I used to be indulgent towards that behaviour, regarding the YUGI's as their parents responsibility and disgrace. But now - with a war at hand, we will need all people there is. Even the YUGI's.

- Why not simply tell them that their world will be gone if they don't help out? Alatheia asked.  
- Because they won't listen, Hera said. Look at young Herophilos for instance, he ran out of the war training the very first day, and refuses to come back, no matter what Aphrodite says.  
- I'll teach that son of mine one or two... Poseidon started, but Hera cut him of:

- Not your way, Seidy! This needs to be done smart. I guess Auroanos is the man for this project.  
- Another propaganda project? Alatheia again.  
- Yes, Hera said. But this time directed at immortals instead of mortals. That's tenfolds as hard.

After discussing that for a while, Hebe, who had been quiet up till now, asked:  
- There's one more thing: Where do these creatures come from? I thought the Gaianes to be dead and gone for millennia.  
- You're right, Li'l-blossom, they are, dad said. But these - Giants - seem to be some kind of late offspring to the original Gaianes. A side-line most possibly damaged by mutations and inbreeding.  
- But how comes those freaks have survived? Hermes asked. And to suddenly become so plentiful that they are threatening the Union?  
- That we can only speculate in so far, dad tried to answer.

- But if we can learn the answer to Hermes' question we might gain an upper hand, I said. We might find their weak spot by looking into their ancestry. Dad, I suggest you send one of your Intelligence Agency gods to find out.  
- Too risky, dad said. I actually sent Bia on such a mission - almost losing her.  
- I can go... I started but dad cut me off with just one look. He was not willing to risk me - or any other deity on a mission he thought too dangerous.

- Then give Athi and me Bia's file on this, Alatheia suggested. Maybe we can find the answer between Bia's lines.  
- Trust me, dad said, I've been reading that report 'till my eyes were bleeding. And I have found nothing!  
- The girls can offer you second and third opinion, beloved, Hera said. No harm in giving it to them.  
- And to everyone else who want to read it, Hermes went on. No harm in sharing information. Even the tiniest insight or suggestion might gain us.  
- You're right, dad said. I'll let you have copies.

Next day me, my sisters and brothers and Aietes, Zephyros, Aphrodite and Phaeton were given lists of deities we were supposed to give the same training as we had received. Auroanos was complaining:  
- Mostly YUGI:s! How the Chaos am I going to teach these people to fight?  
- Don't give up before trying, Auro, Artemis told him.  
- Hand them over to me, little brother! I'll make war machines out of every single YUGI there is, Ares said and made some martial arts moves towards Auro, who blocked him and answered:  
- Don't worry, soldier, I'll deal with them!

I was looking at my list. Auro was right, there was a curse of a lot of YUGI:s on it. But that was only to expect, I guessed. I had got some reasonable people too, like Aeolus, Arelis and their cousins Inix and Xanthus, Sakura's sister Akiko, the former Ekarantannian Mayor-Immortal Cassiopeia, Ares' friend Donin, my non-Olympian sisters Aglaia and Britomartis, dads co-workers Marpessa and Paregoros as well as a handful of Hyperpantheon delegates.

- We can do this, I told my co-pantheonites. Have the YUGI:s doing some early mornings and harsh job, and they'll learn the seriousness of the situation.  
- You've got it, Athena! Ares replied.

I split my group in two halves and got to work. Of course I lost a trio of YUGI:s already the first week, but most of the names I had considered hopeless were actually responsible young deities, very willing to work hard to learn to defend their family, their city and what they believed in. One of them, Aethra, was really a natural talent when it came to fool the adversaries. Soon they were doing war-games over the ocean the way we had done with Poseidon and Iris. I had Aethra leading the red group and Aeolus leading the blues most of the times, and we were doing great!

We were also battling against my co-pantheonites' groups, winning most of the times. I was beginning to believe that this could actually be done. That we, together, could be able to defeat these cursed Giants.

0O0O0

At the same time Apollon was not his usual cool self after his prophesy. No music, no unexpected outbursts of intelligent reasoning and no tries to seduce various YUGI girls in downtown 'Tanni. Instead he was locking himself in, talking almost only to his twin. Until Artemis went and fetched Persephone. Then they did some serious soul tripping that sometimes lasted for days.  
- Peri, what are you up to? I asked my cousin.

- Ollie wants to see Hades.  
- What for? I could hardly forget my visits to that freaky realm. Or Hades and his associate Charon the oil-blub.  
- To learn - this might sound absurd - to know if there is a way to avoid the souls from falling. To acquire true immortality. Not just the absence of these things that corrupt mortal cells and make them age.

- And - what does Hades say? I asked Persephone.  
- That it's futile. It can't be done. It's easier to stop gravitation, he claims. Apparently the soul-gravity that occurs after death is one of the basic natural laws. Inevitable stuff.  
- Poor Ollie. Scared of death. And nothing Hades said could soothe him?  
- No. I guess it's not really death that scares Ollie. It's the lethe effect.

- The what?  
- The effect that makes most souls forget their life here when they fall.  
- The souls going crazy, you mean?  
- Well, they don't really go crazy, Athi. They only - forget. Because of the stress caused by death and the fall.

- So there was no comfort in meeting Hades for poor Ollie?  
- I don't know.  
- Did he - cross the Styx-flow?  
- No. I told him not to. Hades also advised against it. Apollon is a god of light. He belongs here. He would not stand a world where darkness shines.  
- Then I guess he better stay alive with all he has, I said.  
- I guess so too.

0O0O0

One night Hera told that Irolos was divorcing Selene, leaving the Argospantheon, eastbound for a new life in Sparta.  
- And Selene blames me! Can you believe that girls?  
- Why on Earth? Hestia asked, green eyes wide with surprise.

As so many times before some of us women were gathered at Hestia's place, around her fire. This time it was Hera, Hestia, Eleithya, Astraea, Alatheia, Iris, Eos and I. Not Artemis, she and Apollon were visiting their mother in Taenaria. And Hebe, Cleopatra and Ersa were at a concert downtown with some of the brothers.  
- Because, Hera began and looked at her hands. Because of Zeus.

- So Zeus has been sticking his nose into their lives too? Eos asked.  
- Well, not exactly his nose, Hera said with a sour face.  
- What do you mean? Hestia asked. He's been having Selene? When would that have occurred? As far as I know...  
- Selene claims the reason is Zeus. And blames me for not being able to give him what he wants. Like if I... If I...  
- But she laid together with Zeus! Iris cut in. Doesn't that goddess have free will?  
- Chaos and its creepy daughters! Hera bursted out. I'm so sick of this!

- Then pack your bags! Eos advised.  
- Yeah, sure! And go somewhere and feeling lonely and miserable and after some months or weeks or even days Zeus will come after me and do some sweet talk and touch me _here_ and kiss me _there_ and I'll be his again. Because I can't be without him. Whatever he does, whomever he beds, I can not leave him.  
- Why? Eos again.

- Because I love him way too much. My heart aches after him when we're apart. I need to hold him, look into his eyes. Still, after all these years, after all these events, it does not die, it doesn't even fade. It's as immortal as our genes. Curse Selene! Perhaps that's what she wants!  
- What? Astraea and I asked at the same time.  
- Zeus. She wants my Zeus. And Faith knows that there have been many who have tried to take him away from me over the years.

- Selene has no chance to take dad from you, Alatheia comforted her mother, hugging her. What has she that you lack? Maybe he has bedded her, but if that's the case it won't make headline news anymore.  
- It's not about that. Selene is one of my best and most trusted friends. And I don't want to lose her over Zeus. I don't want her to have fallen for my man and thus seeing me as a rival instead of a friend. Back in 17, when Zeus and I became a couple I almost lost my friend Electra of Troy. She was madly in love with Zeus and regarded me as having stolen him from her.

- Ha! No-one "steals" Zeus, Iris said. That man can not be stolen, not be owned. He walks his own path.  
- Not really, Hestia said. Hera owns him. But not because of stealing. He was fairly won. Hera, you wont lose Selene over this. This is not about Zeus, this is about Irolos. Selene wants him back. Bedding Zeus and then bitching at you is only some kind of chock-reaction. They have been married for about 275 years, what do you expect?

And while the others went on discussing how to make marriages last I found myself fantasizing about getting married in the first hand. It did seem more unrealistic than ever. Who wants to marry a goddess of war after all?


	20. The battle for Ekarantanni

**The battle for Ekarantanni**

The war started on a Fall Month Secondday in 221. The real war that is. The skirmishes around the Union borders and over cities like Argos, Edo and Landora had only been forerunners. We knew that the Giants were aiming for a heart-stab. They would be coming for our capital Ekarantanni sooner or later. Apollon's prophecy as well as our spies had given us that much. There were also proof that the Giants were going after the other Grand Pantheons, and were planning to take them all out at the same time.

Dad had planted a spy at the Giant high court and was receiving reports of the Giants plans through mindspeech. And together with dad we had been farsighting their leader, the dreaded Porphyrion and his mystery queen, a veiled lady, standing behind and saying nothing.  
- She seems subjugated, dad was saying, pointing at the woman. But don't be fooled by the obvious appearance. I believe she is really the one in control, and Porphyrion only her vessel of speech.

- Like people say about you and Hera, Oreynadan joked, but dad just glared at him without commenting, saying instead:  
- When all this is over I want her. I want to know who she is and why she wants to destroy us. Get me her! Because if she gets away we will only have to do this war again and again. Until she is caught the war won't be over. Am I making myself clear on this?

Less than a week later Zeus gathered all Ekarantanni gods through mind-linking. Four simple sentences. _Tomorrow the Giants will attack. At ten in the morning, Ekarantanni time. Be prepared. Be victorious!_

O0O0O

At nine the deities of Ekarantanni started to gather. First there were us. The team leaders. Me, Ares, Hera, Hestia, Astraea, Helios, Hercules, Irdonan, Oreynadan. Androdorus of Angresidor, Xenon of Thessalia-Ekarantanni, Xurasa of Thebe, Kandrios of Elesios, Kephalos of Garondas, Antiope, Donin, Taygeta and Enyo.

Then came all the rest. Hermes, Nike, Alatheia, Sakura, Demeter, Dionysos, Artemis, Poseidon, Aeolus, Arelis, Cassiopeia, Iris, Apollon, Auroanos, Leto, Eleithya, Hebe, Caeros, Aphrodite, Phaeton, Zephyros, Aietes, Argus of Argos, Neyta of Kergandar, Arxora of Atlantis, Amaterasu of Nippon, Pelasgos, Kallirhoe, Callisto, Maia, Philotes, Triton, Pereoe, Orion, Aglaia, Xanthus, Inix, Akiko, Coronis, Aethra, Zoros, Arcas and so many many more. Sisters and brothers. Friends of mine. People I cared dearly about. People I felt indifferent about. And people I disliked but wanted in the ranks anyway, since we shared a common goal in this.

We were forming ranks, hugging, peep-talking, checking and re-checking what we had learned over the last years. Waiting. The sky was overcast, the air felt stale and not a wind moved. The sea below us was calm and steel gray, like a polished sink. At last dad came out to take leadership over the forces of immortals.  
- Just like in the old days, Hera said to me and Ares.

I was staring at dad. Gone was the Divine King, gone was the man in elegant and expensive togas and with long hair adorned with pearls and gemstones. Gone was his golden crown and the trim beard he had sported since his fifties. Now he was clean shaved and with the platinum-blonde hair cropped short and he was wearing the same tight-fitting burgundy leather outfit and big boots as the rest of us. The only sign of his authority was the golden Union Star on his back. And his stance of course. Zeus was still an impressing sight, only in a quite different way.

He carried no arms, but when taking his place in front of us he let off an amazing display of sparking electricity flying off in every direction and hitting high points, like skyscrapers, TV-towers and the spire of Olympos. The booming sound echoed through the city and we answered him with our war cry:  
- For the Union!

Then we saw the attacking forces. Flying Giants. There were thousands and thousands of them, all heading for Ekarantanni and its 350 defenders. I felt tension and fear swirl around in our ranks. Insecurity. The willing to run and hide. The next moment Dad called up the gale wind. A fierce storm blowing out over the sea, halting the attacking enemies, breaking up their lines, creating disorder among them. But when I turned and looked in over 'Tanni the air was completely still, with the flags hanging lifeless on their poles.

After that Dad moved his next pawn, transmitting courage through his aura and across our ranks. It trickled through every pore, connected to every cell, and I felt the blood starting to sing in my veins. Sing our war cry. _For the Union! _

The enemies were still struggling with the wind and now dad had added tornadoes, hail-storms and thunder too. I turned to my comrades:  
- Let's seize the advantage! Let's go get them while they are struggling with bad weather. Remember, they are used to battling on the ground. Let's show them that we are 3D warriors and take them from above and beneath!

We split in two. I found myself leading the upper edge, flying faster than I'd ever done before. Like a pair of scissors we cut into the enemy lines, using every bit of our element of surprise to kill and maim.

There was bedlam. Disorder. Chaos. I hit at everything that wasn't burgundy, and I soon lost count of how many Giants I had cut down. First I felt revolted, ashamed. Hated the way their scared yellow eyes met mine the second before dying. (Hades, open the BIG gate!) Then I started to picture them as weed and myself as a gardener, just keeping it nice and clean around me.

I spotted little brother Ares, covered in blood and with thirst for more in his brown eyes, plowing himself mercilessly through the enemy lines. I saw Sakura and Irdonan fighting back to back, Hermes helping a cornered Zephyros, Auroanos using a razor-studded iron wire as a whip and Artemis and Apollon shooting piercing arrows. Astraea and Aphrodite were handling one of the rocket guns Hephaistos had invented and Helios and Hestia were fighting with their own pyrotechnics. Hercules had rejected the sword and the rifle and was instead using a large, studded adamantine-club with which he simply smashed the giant's heads into pieces.

Then there was Hera. She had armed herself with an adamantine spear, sharp in both ends, and now she was spinning through the air like a drill, slicing through the enemies like they were made of butter. I saw a troubled Dionysos being chased by a handful of enemies and mindspoke him: Over here! He obeyed and I rendered myself invisible. My brother brushed aside me and when all the enemies were upon me I butchered them, catching them by the element of surprise.

Dad was everywhere with his thunder and lightning, working as much with inflicting terror and fear as with regular killing. He kept breaking up the Giant flanks, using whirling winds and clouds of mist to prevent the Giants from forming themselves into effective attacking groups. And most of all - he was the symbol of courage and inspiration for all of us. Just seeing him invoked strength and hope.

My apprentices were doing good too. Working together in little groups with ambushing enemies the way I had fooled Dionysos' adversaries. I gathered Britomartis, Marpessa and Aeolus around me and we were flying in triangular formations, attacking the enemies like living arrow-heads.

Hephaistos had invented a killer application he called the "sticky grenade". It's a kind of small explosives that you pull out the pin of and throw at the enemy. It's covered in a myriad of tiny hooks that make it stick to its goal and then exploding, sending the enemy to Hades. I loved them, used up all of them rather quick and had Paregoros to go back for more several times, picking from Astraios' supplies until there were no more left.

Pelasgos got a sword through his guts, almost cutting him apart, and I caught him falling. _Asclepios, help me! _The healer doubled back and caught the wounded crime fighter, engulfing him in purple energy, and soon Pelasgos was as good as new and joined me, Phaeton, Britomartis, Pyrrhikhos, Eleithya and Hebe in a race to meet an incoming group of Giants.  
- Amazing what Asc can do, right? Hebe shouted at me. Too bad he's not Olympian!  
- Can't we have him change his mind, Phaeton suggested.

Most of these Giants were rather easy to take down. You didn't have to work too hard to get a heart stab. Others were more durable. One large freak had me sweating real hard, refusing to leave an opening or be distracted. Finally I got help from Hera, who thrusted her sword through his guts from behind. Distracted the monster turned to face the new enemy, and I could cut his neck off in a single blow and finally finish him.

Meanwhile Hera dived down in the sea, and came up looking all wet but yet content.  
- My, that was refreshing! Was all covered in brain tissue, came too near one who got a sticky grenade in his hair.  
- I know I should go "Ouch" and "Yuck" but somehow I don't find these things as revolting anymore. Have seen more gore during these few hours than in my entire life. Think one gets immune after a while.  
- Yeah, welcome to the war, Athena! Come on, let's help Iris over there!  
- Right, five against one isn't fair.

It was still hailing, and the battle swayed to and from without getting anywhere. I met Nike, she looked tired and disoriented and stared at me with scared brown eyes: _Athi, can I go home? I'm so tired!_ I lost my sword, emptied my rifles and then I started to use thunderbolts instead. They proved to work better than the regular weapons. Dads lessons had paid off. Not only did I get a curse of a lot more Giants this way, I was also scaring the rest, having them loosing their courage. I used that advantage to push them in the arms of waiting burgundy clad comrades. _Another Zeus?_ I heard someone mindspeak somewhere.

But it wasn't enough. It was simply not enough to take the Giants down one by one like this. They were too many. We were slowly loosing ground, retreating beneath their heavy push. I realised that the only way to turn our failing luck was to take out a lot of them fast and in a single blow. But how?

Then I spotted the oil tanker lying anchored a bit outside the harbour, and got an idea. I scanned for mortals and found the ship abandoned. Good. _Hercules_, I mindcalled my little brother. _Can you lift or levitate that one?_ I indicated the ship. He came up to me:

- Sure!  
- Then get it! Now fly it over that contingent of Giants. We're going to shower them in petrol.  
- Why?  
- You'll see.

I mindcalled Hestia, told her to come over, while Hercules flew down and with the help of Astraea picked up the ship. Then I used thunderbolts to pierce a zillion of holes in the hull of the boat, and Herc and Ea had it flying over the Giants, soaking them in oil. At the same time Hestia showed up.  
- Now set these buttholes on fire, Tia!  
- It's not effective, I...  
- Do it! I said, using my business voice.

Hestia obeyed, and soon the Giant contingent was turned into a burning inferno when the combustible liquid caught fire. Screaming the monsters went down.

This had created a "hole" in the Giant force which we broke through and caught the flanks from behind, once again on my command. I had them forced several hundred meters down, almost at water level. At the same time I mindspoke Poseidon and his sons Triton and Careidon, letting them know my plan. So when the Giants dived to avoid us, Poseidon, Triton, Careidon and several other deities flew out of the water, taking the Giants by surprise, finishing them off fast.

The Giants didn't learn from their mistakes so we could as well repeat ourselves. The next gang was chased up into the clouds where a continent of defenders led by Aethra, surprised them. I also found that the Giants were sloppy with keeping an outlook of what was happening beneath them, so I directed Amaterasu and her people to attack the enemy from below. At the same time some of Hebe's apprentices showed up, raining stones on the Giants to the right.

Then, suddenly the battle turned. The Giants had lost their stamina and were now retreating instead. Soon they were running away, a lot of us chasing then. Dad mindcalled: _Not everyone of you! Someone's better come back here. Some Giants have sneaked inside the city and started to cause havoc there. I need help with taking them out! _

So while Ares, Hercules, Sakura, Irdonan, Neyta, Enyo, Hera, Orion and a large group of others went after the fleeing Giants I took Apollon, Artemis, Hermes, Nike, Aietes, Aglaia, Britomartis, Marpessa, Inix, Cassiopeia, Donin and Akiko and and some dozen more and followed dad inside Ekarantanni for a cat and mouse game with these Giants who were vandalising 'Tanni as we mindspoke.

This turned out to be a quite different battle. Now we couldn't just kill and slaughter. There were mortals to take in mind. And the Giants were going for them. Screaming, terrified crowds running down the streets, trying to avoid the monstrosities chasing them. Not only were the Giants big and powerful in the eyes of mortals, they were nasty-looking and scary too. We in turn chased the Giants, trying to finish them off with as few mortal causalities as possible. Artemis and Apollon's arrows were effective in this case. So was Akiko's way of attacking them with kicks at their throats. Sakura's little sister knew exactly where the right spots for a kill were.

Akiko's fighting skills were not that far from the techniques Helios had taught us, and soon I started to do the same instead of using thunderbolts. They were too inaccurate in those narrow spaces, hitting wires and neon lights as well as enemies, and thus destroying more than necessary.

Some of the beasts found their way down in the subway and I had Aglaia, Aithlios and Xanthus going after them ordering them to prevent the tunnels from caving in.  
- Subway's full of mortals. Caved in tunnels will kill a lot of them!

But that turned out to be almost impossible to achieve. Soon I saw the whole Free Trade Plaza collapsing, taking two buildings with it when the Giants started to destroy the Free Trade Subway station. I turned to Pasithea and Acaste and ordered them down to rescue mortals.  
- Forget about the Giants! Others are dealing with them. You are to save as many people as you can!

The next moment a huge monster came for me, striking Marpessa down with one swift move.  
- I am Hadar, and I'm going to rape you while your father is watching! he was growling.  
- Bah, you ain't got nothing to rape anybody with, I called back, ducked beneath his swinging fists and aimed a kick between his legs. The Giant swayed and screamed but remained attacking me so I finished him off with a thunderbolt. I noted that Britomartis had taken care of Marpessa, who was rising again. _Don't worry about me, I'm fine,_ she mindcalled.

Together with Paladin and Nyx I chased a band of Giants down the broad Liberty Avenue and tricked them out on the Liberty Bridge where Paladin and Nyx took them from behind. I had Hermes helping me taking them up front. One of them jumped up in the air, only to be hit by a thunderbolt. Dad was around somewhere. Or maybe that had been Caeros.

Then I saw Apollon's vision! A couple of dozen Giants were attacking the Nexus building, bolting down the defenders with their javelins and iron maidens. Oreynadan, Philotes, Diamanda of Corinth, Acmoria of Akarnaiya, Pancleia of Attica and Aestarion of Crete were doing their best to save the building. In the pouring rain the shielded immortals looked like shining soap bubbles. And in the background a burning skyscraper.  
- Let's help them, I called out to Nyx who had stayed by my side while her husband Paladin had followed Hermes to take out the Giant who jumped from the bridge.

Then we were defending the Home of Democracy, failing to prevent it from having its doomed roof blown to smithereens. In the process I almost caught a javelin in my guts, the Aegis saving me from getting pierced by it's sharp edge.  
- Chaos!  
- How'd you do that? Nyx asked.  
- Aegis. I'll tell you lat... Watch your back!

In the last nanosecond I managed to pull Nyx out of danger from the attacking Giant, killing him with a thunderbolt. At the same time the burning skyscraper collapsed in a cloud of smoke and dust. But the area around the Nexus was cleared of enemies.

Paladin came flying up towards me with a lifeless shape in his arms.  
- Oreynadan's down, he said. I'm taking him up to Olympos and the healers working there.  
- Faiths! How bad is it?  
- I don't know.

I managed to put aside the worries for Orey and took off in the sky again, followed by Nyx. There were more Giants there, trying to destroy the great tower Spear of Tomorrow. Focusing on strength I tore the spire off the skyscraper, using it as a real spear and attacking the arriving Giants. They had no chance, I had all of them except for one paled on my makeshift weapon when Hermes came darting through the air.

- Whatcha gonna do, sister? A barbecue?  
- Why not? I answered, used some electricity to finish off the enemies once and for all. Then I waved the spire with its burning victims at Hermes:  
- Want a bite? I asked him.  
- No thanks, I think I just turned vegetarian.

- Watch out for trouble, Athi! Hermes called out the next moment. I turned and saw a sight I'll never forget. Perhaps the largest Giant of them all, and in spite of his size he looked oddly normal. He was chasing my poor sister Hebe across the sky. _Need help?_ I mindcalled and got an affirmative answer. I called out for Hermes and Nyx and together we attacked the big Giant. He managed to hit Nyx who fell to the ground, unconscious. I had Hebe catching Queen of the Night, getting her to safety inside a building and then Hermes and I tried to take down this Giant of Giants.

But it was far from easy. We got help from Ares and Hercules, Hermes was also hit and fell, Hebe coming and getting him too. Irdonan and Sakura appeared out of nowhere followed by Akiko, Amphion, and Kandrios of Elesios. And nine deities were too much even for this hulk. When we had wrestled him to the ground I suddenly realised who we had caught. Porphyrion. The Giant leader.  
- You're mine, cockroach! I screamed to the Giant, displaying electricity in my hands.  
- Blast him from me too, Athena! Kandrios of Elesios shouted.

- Wait, dad called from above. Don't kill him!  
- Why...? Ares started.

Dad came diving down, stopping in mid-air just a few meters above his opponent.  
- No! Porphyrion yelled. Noooo! I'm not... going to tell! Don't! Don't! I won't... The next moment dad cut off the growling of the Giant leader with one single, killing thunderbolt.  
- That's not fair, Ares whined. We caught him! Why couldn't we have that final kill... Athena was...  
- Oh, shut up, Ares! dad sighed. Be less bloodthirsty and more efficient. I did not want that kill particularly. I wanted what was in that beasts head.  
- Which was? I asked.  
- The location of the real one in charge. The veiled queen.

O0O0O

The death-cry of Porphyrion had echoed through the minds of all Giants and deities in the Ekarantanni area. This wrecked the last piece of courage the Giants had. Now they were fleeing as fast as they could while we were rejoicing.  
- Kill as many as you manage! Dad ordered while we were pursuing the fleeing enemies. It wasn't hard to obey, the lasting Giants were flowers to pick. I think I zapped more in that chase than during the hours spent inside the city. When the last of the Giants had either disappeared or died I realised that it has been dark for hours. And I was tired beyond reason.

- Let's go home! I told the few gods and goddesses around me.  
- Good idea, Alatheia answered.  
- To showers! Astraea said.  
- And food! Caeros added.  
- Y' know what? Ares said. This was fun!


	21. The war continues

**The war continues**

Back at Olympos the main building was floating in more lights than usual, someone had probably turned everything on to keep darkness at bay and lead tired warriors home. Tonight Olympos was open for all deities. A lot of people were gathered in the Ball Saloon, tired gods and goddesses. They were celebrating the victory of course, but there was no music, no screams of joy, only a low noise of talking people and some odd laugher.

Attendant-nymphs were carrying around platters with food and jars of beverages and I grabbed a glass of Distilled and gulped it down in one drag the way they did it up north. Astraea was staring at me, she had never seen me do anything like that - natural, since I'm very moderate with alcohol.  
- I needed it, I explained.  
- Maybe I should do the same, Ea replied.

I nodded taking in the motley gathering of deities. They were in all kinds of mood, ranging from happy to sad. Hephaistos was holding a crying Aphrodite, and right behind them Dionysos, Sakura, Irdonan, Maia, Arelis, Amaterasu, Xurasa, Triton and Careidon were getting really drunk, talking loud and slurry and trying to sing something. Some people, like Hestia, Freya and Ra of Aigyptos looked clean-showered and fresh, dressed in casual weekday clothing, while others, like Hercules, Enyo and Azirakon were still walking around in their burgundys, dirty and bloody.

Phaeton was doing some animated boasting over how many Giant he'd beheaded, swinging an imaginary sword. Marpessa and Aglaia were listening idly, with a "No, we're not impressed"-look upon their faces. Similar discussions were going around in various corners, people comparing their experiences. Amazing that some actually remembered how many Giants they had killed, I had lost count after my first hour.

Ares, Zephyros, Aethra and Xanthus has captured some Giant weaponry and were comparing them to our stuff. Astraea and I stopped for a while and checked out those heavy swords, made from rather low quality adamantine and with plastic hilts done for larger hands than ours. They had probably been sharp in the beginning of the battle, now they were dull and jagged. I realized that it was not the weight but the odd balance which was the major disadvantage with the Giant swords.

Phaeton, who met my blade in a mock-fight, was soon to point out:  
- Those weapons may be of lesser quality than ours, but what surprises me is that the Giants were able to make them at all. There seems to be something wrong with their intelligence, yet they can make these things.  
- Perhaps there are other Giants somewhere, more intelligent ones, who do not partake in these battles, I guessed. - They use dumb brutes as expendable bodies you mean? Phaeton asked.  
- Perhaps they do, I think we may have to be prepared to meet other kinds of Giants later on.  
- They are a true mystery, these beasts, Astraea agreed.

Hermes' daughter Auria came up with one of these iron maidens and started to show off. She jumped around and swung it fast around her head while imitating a Giant war-cry until she hit Zephyros in his temple.  
- Ouch! Watch it, girlie, he exclaimed and put his hand to the wound.  
- Sorry. Auria blushed and lowered her weapon, but Zephy went on:

- Sorry what? If I'd been a mortal you'd cracked my skull with that thing. Had "sorry" been enough then, eh? If you'd killed somebody, your careless YUGI?!  
- Perhaps instead I should stick it up your... Auria began, Astraea cutting her off:  
- Stop it! Zephy, you're no mortal and that's just a little bump you're getting there. All right, Auria wasn't exactly careful, but I bet she hadn't pulled that stunt with real mortals around.

- It doesn't matter, Zephyros retorted. I don't expect to come home to Olympos to be attacked by some lunatic brat!  
- You're the one who's lunatic, Titan! Auria screamed. You sound like I hit you on purpose!  
- Hey, I started. We're all tired and suffering from adrenaline overload. If you still think this is something to discuss tomorrow, let's do it then!

Hermes came up to us:  
- Seen dad?  
- No, we just came back, I told. He's in yet?  
- No idea. I need to see him about what happened to the Mayor-Immortal.  
- Telganestros? What's wrong with him?

- He's dead. He took a cut that went right through his throat, almost cut his head off. I was fetching Asclepios, but we came too late. He died in his mothers arms.  
- Oh, poor Pereoe! That must have been terrible. What more losses do we have?  
- Don't know yet. But Oreynadan is rather bad off. Apollon is working on him. And Aeirene was still healing Diamanda last I looked. Hebe is unharmed but in some kind of shock. She's with her mother. Over there. Hermes pointed to a sofa between two open windows where a minor group had gathered.

- Hebe! Astraea exclaimed. I've better...  
- No, Hermes said, there's more than enough people over there. She won't be helped by another curious face.  
- I'm no curious face, Astraea spat, I want to see my sister!  
- What's with Aphrodite? I asked Hermes.  
- I don't know. He shrugged. Probably something Ares said.

- There's dad! Alatheia suddenly said and I turned. As usually when dad entered a room the buzz died down and people were waiting for what he was going to say or do. He was still dressed in burgundy, although he seemed to have washed his face and hair. And he looked less tired than he had three hours ago, when he ordered us to kill the fleeing Giants.

- My brave friends, Zeus started, we have done a great deed here tonight, defending our city and its mortal population. I know that the Nexus building is partly destroyed, but it's after all just a house. The symbol of democracy, that's true, but still a house, and a house can be rebuilt. While the idea still lives. We killed more than 50 000 Giants here in the day we've just left behind us. He indicated the wall clock that showed half an hour past midnight.

- On behalf of the City of Ekarantanni, he went on, its mortals and those deities who didn't partake in the battle I want to thank you all for your deed. I know that you're tired and more or less shocked. But life goes on. Quite a bit more secure after this battle. Now I will ask you this: Eat, drink, talk and hug each other and then go home and sleep a good nights sleep, if possible in the arms of a beloved. And sleep in as long as you want tomorrow! Because then we are to rebuild 'Tanni. There's a lot of wreckage out there, but don't go out now and clean it up! Other deities are working on it. Those who did no battling. Rest first! Then I promise you all, that when Ekarantanni carries no marks of the battle we will celebrate this victory with a big party.

At those words a group to my right started to cheer. It was Dionysos and his gang.  
- Shut up! someone screamed. All you can think of is partying, Dionysos. It was Persephone, and she sounded heartbroken.  
- These were the good news, dad went on, unbothered by the interruption. The bad news is that the war is not over. Now comes the "cleaning up". There are still aboout 150 000 Giants out there, and they need to be taken care of. Instead of this defence battle, it will be a guerilla war with us as the aggressors and the Giants as the defenders. A kind of reverse situation to the Titan war for those who were around back then. Then I have these news...

Dad stopped, breathed in and closed his eyes for a second or two. All of us knowing him could tell that he was close to tears. So came the real bad news. Oreynadan, Demeter's husband was dead. And so was Herophilos, Aphrodite's frivolous and careless 70 years old son. Our brother Imandros, Zeus's son with Trimerda, had also died. The Hyperpantheon had lost three delegates: Kelementhe of Tartega, Megaron of Orkhomenos and Manes of Lydia. On top of that was Telganestros' death and the loss of a handful other immortals: Pherene, Zoros, Ilanios, Eketha, Valdis and Xenodorus. Aeolus' daughter Antiope was first reported as killed in action, but later Artemis found her alive among the rubbles downtown, and she was taken to Olympos and Asclepios.

There were several gods in healing process, and dad was not sure if all of them would make it. Alonadar for instance was really bad off, after getting his scull cracked.  
- He has suffered bad brain damages, dad said, looking with sad eyes at Alonadar's wife Doradala. I'm not sure they are curable. Perhaps it's more humane to let him go.

Doradala rose:  
- Want to see him once more, she said with a broken voice and Iris rose, took her arm, saying:  
- I'll come with you my friend.

After his speech dad started to walk around, talking to people, offering comfort, sharing information, explaining things and toasted to victory with those who wanted to do that. He stayed a long time with Hera and Hebe, hugging his daughter and talking to her. And Hebe seemed to come around, I could see the change in her aura.

I got a mindcall from Nardalon down in Athens. He, Clyanassa and Aganthanon had been prepared to defend the city all day long, but hadn't seen a toenail of a Giant. Now Nardalon and Clyanassa were going to bed, letting Aganthanon stand guard, "just in case".

Not long after that dad came up where Hermes, Alatheia, Nike, Aietes, Chrysandros of Arvandessar and I sat. He hugged us all hard and sat down and talked for a while. Then he told us to eat and then go to sleep.  
- Tomorrow, he said, we have things to take care of.  
- Sure, Hermes said. Whatever I feel like I could sleep for a week.  
- I know. But it'll feel better tomorrow when the sun comes up. And besides, Hermes - who can't sit still for five minutes, how are you going to sleep a week?

When we were leaving Chrysandros suddenly took my arm:  
- Athena, please! Let me hold you tonight!  
- Hold? You're content with "holding"?  
- Well...  
- Come on, handsome! Don't look so lost! I led the way to my home, not bothering with Nike and Alatheia's giggles behind my back.

O0O0O

The next morning we met in a large conference room. Dad was back in Divine King mode, in civilian clothes and a headband adorning that odd, short hairdo Ares was referring to as effective-looking. (In less than a fortnight all the beards and most of the lion manes would be gone from the men of 'Tanni. Guess the barbers made a fortune.)

Hestia was asking Auroanos about Herophilos:  
- What happened to him? I thought he didn't parttake in the fighting.  
- You're right, he wasn't. Until he decided he wanted to impress a few girlies and got a sword and attacked some giants. He knew nothing about fighting and shielding. Needles to say he became hacked into pieces.

Persephone was arguing with her mother:  
- Mama, please! Persephone was begging. Let me talk to Hades! Let me having him find daddy for us!  
- Persephone, you stop this immediately! I'm sick and tired of your dead so called friends. It's not normal. It's sick!  
- They can't help they're dead, Persephone replied, staring at the patterns in the carpet.  
- Forget it, Demeter said.

Dad called for silence and began explaining the strategy for the next part of the war - the guerilla chapter and about rebuilding 'Tanni. He handed out tasks and I was appointed leader of the group that was to look for the "veiled queen".  
- But didn't Porphyrion know where she was? I asked.  
- In a cave, dad spat. But that idiot didn't have a sense of direction, he had no clue how to get there!

Then dad went on to the state of the rest of the Union. Apparently he hadn't obeyed his own orders about a "good nights sleep" but had stayed up and taking in news from around the commonwealth. The Giants had been concentrating on cities housing large amount of immortals, that was why Athens had remained untouched. Guarded by only Aganthanon, Clyanassa and Nardalon it had probably not been seen worth bothering with by the enemies. But Edo, Atlantapolis, Luxor, Nantaria and other large immortal home cities had taken damages.

All of the other 9 grand pantheons seemed more or less intact. Save for one. The Valhalla Pantheon up north had been annihilated. All of them had died in the battle at Ragnarök. Selene's pantheon had also take huge losses. In fact she and her young daughter Pandia were the only survivors together with Selene's nephew Tiaros who was working for Artemis in the Chair Lady's office.

Two hours later I was joined by the Olympians Hercules, Astraea, Auroanos and Hermes as well as Britomartis, Akiko, Philotes, Chrysandros, Dernigal of Plenitaa and Loria of Xanotha in dads office to be briefed about our quest for the "veiled queen". Ares, Irdonan, Alatheia, Orion, Enyo and the rest who was to kill Giants had already been sent off.

Iris was leading a third group assigned to the task of rebuilding Ekarantanni and helping homeless mortals, a lot of them finding temporary homes in our temples. Apollon, Eleithya and Ersa were leading soul healing teams and Aeirene and her sister Eumonia were healing mortals. At the same time people like Hera, Artemis and Hephaistos were back at their old tasks.

- So, I asked dad, what do we know about this "veiled queen"?  
- Not much. She used to follow Porphyrion closely. Up until he led his forces into Thessalia and threatened Ekarantanni. She wasn't around then. I have her energy-patterns but her dwelling is yet to be found. I suggest some soul tripping here before you try an actual physical search. Dernigal, I know that you're an expert-tripper. The best of us Olympians was unfortunately Oreynadan who fell defending Ekarantanni. But his daughter Persephone has declared that she's willing to help you on this first leg of your search.

- Thanks, Great Zeus. Dernigal said. There was something cold in his voice that I couldn't put my finger upon, and it made me feel quite uncomfortable, but I shook it off. You can't like everybody you are supposed to work with. Perhaps I would become on good terms with Dernigal later, just as with Aganthanon.

- Now, dad said, I don't have to point out that this lady is far more dangerous than she looks. What I do need to point out is that even if she's in charge, it won't be enough by removing her. Oreynadans and my soul trips regarding the Giants showed us that this is a multi-layered scheme. Behind this "veiled queen" is another one. Perhaps not a "ruler", but something else. Something that might have to be removed before we can consider us being out of danger.

- Don't worry, I told dad. We'll get all the Giants there is. Including this "veiled queen" and the one behind her.  
- Athena! If possible I want this one "behind" to be taken alive. And if you can make it, the "veiled queen" too.  
- Why? Astraea asked.  
- I want to know more about these "living fossils". I want to know where they came from, how and where they survived. And why they suddenly exploded in number. Perhaps there's something we must do to prevent these kind of things from happening again.

After leaving dads office Dernigal came up to me and took my arm, saying:  
- Lady Athena, I know that Zeus is a bit too found of handing over important missions to his own offspring. But isn't it better if this mission is led by the best.  
- And that should be you? I asked the Plenitaaite.  
- Of course! Since...  
- Forget it. You might be an expert soul tripper, but I'm a warrior who had gotten the best training there is. I am not giving up command.  
- Don't be stubborn, Athena! We can't afford to get this mission halted by personal issues.

- You're the one making this personal, Dernigal, I said and Astraea came to my defence:  
- I saw how angered you became in dads office because Athena got the command. But I'll tell you, my sister is the best.  
- Of course you are defending her, but...  
- Chrysandros! I called, Loria, Britomartis, Akiko, Philotes! Come back here! We have a leadership question, and we have to deal with it now. Dernigal has questioned that I should be in charge of this group.  
- On what ground? Chrysandros wanted to know, while the others, including the Olympians, were returning.  
- I think the most skilled should lead us, Dernigal said.  
- And that's Athena, no doubt about it! Akiko said and Britomartis let up an agreeing sound. Everyone who saw her fight can testify to that. We're behind her, and I don't even think this is something we need to discuss.

Sakura's sister managed to silent Dernigal for the moment, but I was well aware that he wasn't entirely accepting me as a superior. Yet already the same afternoon we went to work, Hermes and I warding on Dernigal and Persephone while they started soul tripping.

The duo was down for a couple of hours, and I followed Peri through ragged landscapes with burning villages. Seemed like the real fighting was still going on in certain places. Peri in turn followed Dernigal who was speeding fast through the sub-3D. Several times my cousin had to alert him that he was too fast, and they risked entering 4D-mode and thus loosing the track.  
- We're not, Dernigal answered. I'm in control. if you can't keep up, Olympian, cut out! I can finish this on my own. _Butthole!_ Persephone mindspoke me, and I sighed. Dernigal was problem, that was obvious now.

The next thing happening was Hermes cursing and then rising from his lotus seating in the sofa. Persephone returned up at the same moment, consternated.  
- The bastard cut me off! Hermes said.  
- And then he 5D-dived, Persephone went on. I couldn't follow, the angle was too sharp.

I looked at the immobile man in the sofa next to Hermes.  
- What in the name of... what does he think he's up to? All right that he has a problem with my command, but does that have to mean that he's going to sabotage the whole project for us?

A moment later Dernigal returned up, and I scolded him, but he defended himself:  
- The Giant bitch discovered us and blocked us out. I tried to break through before she got the block in place, but she was too fast. Now we have to do it the old fashioned way, wait her out. Sooner or later she must lower that block and then we'll go get her. But I got a sight of the place of that cave. On a snowy and cold place.  
- That we could have told without you, Persephone scorned.  
- That's enough, Peri, I told my cousin. But don't ever drop your ward like that, Dernigal! You're risking both him and yourself.  
- I know what I did, Athena. You're not the expert here. Let me handle this!

- I'm not questioning your skill, Dernigal, I said. It's your behaviour I'm questioning. If we're going to work together we can't go on fighting like old mortal neighbours. We're doing this tripping your way, because you are the best at this, but don't be rude to my cousin!  
- I'll do my best, Dernigal said dryly.

I let him off the hook for the moment, but he had turned Hermes into hostile mode too. I knew I had to do something about Dernigal before he alienated more of us. I only wondered what.

O0O0O

The same evening I went to see dad over that matter. He was talking to Ares when I entered his office. My little brother hadn't bothered with showering and changing and he looked possibly even more gory and bloody than he had done yesterday. And now he was sitting opposite dad boasting about in his usual way:  
- 300 of those freaks did we slaughter! 300, do you believe that! All of them dead and gone! We lost Tanimo, that's true but we...  
- Ares, dad said and folded his hands. Ares, that's not a good balance.  
- What do you mean, we killed 300?  
- That means it's going to cost us about 500 immortals to get rid of the Giants. And that many are not available.

- But...  
- I know you can do this, I know you're good at kicking ass. But you have to cover your flanks too. You have to make sure our guys survive.  
- Dad, Tanimo was careless...  
- No excuses, son! You have to balance this a bit better. If possible do it a bit slower. Work on splitting them up and take them out in smaller groups instead.100 Giants a day is better if you can manage to cut your losses to about 10 percent.  
- But then it'll take years and years.  
- Ares, we have years and years. But we don't have that many immortals. Try to remember that!  
- I'll do my best, Ares slumped his shoulders.  
- I know you will, and I know you'll make this work. I don't send people on missions they can't manage. I can't afford that.

Then he turned to me:  
- Now Titi, how may I help you?

I told dad and Ares my story and Ares was of course of the idea that I should dismiss Dernigal. Dad on the other hand wanted me to use my diplomatic skills a bit better.  
- We need him as a soul tripper, since we don't have one as good anymore at Olympos.  
- How about yourself, dad?  
- You know I can't do that. Someone has to manage this war from the top. Now, Ares, go have a shower before dinner, and then both of you think over what I said here.  
- I will, Ares rose, good luck Athi.  
- And good luck to you little bro' gung ho, I returned. And sorry about Tanimo.


	22. The veiled queen

**The weiled queen**

The following years were far from the most exciting ones in my life. They were spent with endless searches, both in the 3D world and in the dimensions beyond, to find this "veiled queen". I could tell about my struggles with the older god Dernigal, who had a real problem with accepting that I was the one in charge. Or I could tell about the few Giant battles we were involved in. But it was mostly boring and tedious work, tracing through 5D sightings as well as the desolate mountains of Outgard where even an encounter with wild beasts or outlaws was seen as an entertaining interruption.

I couldn't help feeling that I have drawn the shorter straw when I heard about the successes of Ares and his troops in slaughtering Giants. All right, they took some losses, like Cleopatra's mother Diophaessa and Hermes' brother Esrendan. On the other hand, when they returned to 'Tanni from time to time they had stories of glory to tell, and they were always regarded as heroes, while no-one paid any attention to us.

Finally after more than two years of struggles our luck turned. We had followed a trace to the southernmost continent, the uninhabited Antarctica. After a fierce battle, where we lost poor Loria and almost Chrysandros - Hermes barely managing to heal him - we backtracked our attackers through a landscape of eternal winter and found a secret gate closed by a spell which only Dernigal was able to break. Behind the gate was an opening to a tunnel leading us through some obstacles and right into the lions den. Or, rather, the Giant's den.

They were strange, these Giants. In battle they appeared like beasts with the intelligence of a 4 year old, relying on strength, number and size to acquire success. Yet someone must have been able to construct these fortresses the Giants dwelt within. Strongholds of iron, bronze and cupper that hid them well from attackers and with every convenience available.

We guessed these were built by the "original" Giants, the Gaianes. Still they were so well preserved. Perhaps we had yet to meet these engineers that might've constructed the Giants' strongholds.

This fortress we entered now was no exception. It was only bigger. Probably designed to hold tenfolds of more Giants than those who came at us while we blasted through the iron front doors. They were screaming, swinging their iron maidens and flaunting their fangs, trying to scare us as so many times before.

Another fierce fight, but without losses this time, although Philotes was wounded and had to get help with healing. Britomartis had to hide together with him behind an Aegis while they took care of his blood filled belly, spilled guts and injured inner organs.

Then we had her - the "veiled queen". We found her hiding behind large and locked copper doors. She was trembling with fear, but still able to defend herself with some kind of pyrotechnical powers. Auroanos ducked them all and ran up to her and ripped off her veils. Beneath them she was almost naked. Only a tiny leather skirt covered her private zone. And she was a terrible sight indeed.

All the titans we had encountered so far had been leathery in context, but at the same time fish-like and with some kind of mother-of-pearl iridescence. This - queen - was no exception. She also had these reptile-like yellow eyes and pointed ears. But while the rest of the Giants had been more or less covered in thick, green-black hair, this creature was completely hairless. She was thin but not skinny, it seemed like her bone structure was diminutive, giving her an insect-like appearance.  
- Ugly thing, Akiko wispered behind me and Chrysandros hummed in agrement.

When Hercules and Auroanos had gripped her she seemed to sway and then she fell down on legs refusing to carry her anymore. My brothers forced her upright, simply by holding her that way. She almost paid them no attention. Instead she was looking at me, she understood I was the leader.

- Stranger woman of the Usurping Race, she hissed. If you have come so far to kill me, why don't you go ahead and do it now?  
- Because we want something more, I said.  
- You can have my name, she answered. It's Echidna. Content?  
- No, Echidna, we are not. We want the one you are protecting.

I wouldn't have thought it possible for this white woman to pale, but it was. Echidna's yellow eyes widened with fear and she became notable paler in the dim light from the oozing firebrands and our plasma balls.  
- Where's that one? I insisted.  
- The Great Mother, Echidna whispered. Noooo...

- I know where she is now, Astraea said. Behind those doors.  
- Which doors? Hercules asked. But at the same time we all saw them. Another pair of these huge, gothic double doors which had been hidden by Echidna.  
- Pleeeaz... Echidna whispered, clearly terrified. She was drooling as she did that. Auroanos, who had always been a bit wimpy about these things, looked like he was going to puke when she spilled her greenish saliva on his bare, muscular arm.

Hermes went up and opened the doors, to Echidna's terrified screams. And there she was - asleep on a cross between an altar and a stretcher. The Great Mother of the Giants. The instant I saw her I knew who she was. The one who had given birth to all these thousands and thousands of monsters. But in spite of these creatures terrible appearances this being was in fact beautiful.

0O0O0

- So we brought both this Great Mother and the Veiled Queen with us, I told the gathered deities. Unfortunately Echidna didn't survive the trip. We believe she died out of fear. Her heart stopped. Her body is being studied right as I speak. Along with other Giant bodies. The Great Mother, who calls herself Gaia, is being held imprisoned at a safe place at the northern foothills of Olympos. A thorough medical research has showed among other things that she's without eggs in her ovaries and in a hearing she told that she used them all to create her race of Giants through parthenogenesis. The hibernation she put herself into was to regenerate her egg cells. Echidna, her daughter, was supposed to guard her sleep. I'll take the first round of questions now.

- Is she the real Gaia? Neyta of Kergandar asked.  
- Is it true that all the Giants were sterile? Saretos of Aswee wanted to know.  
- And that this Gaia was in a coma all the time and knew nothing about this war? was the question of Chrysandros' father Kanaton.  
- How many of those cursed Giants are still out there? Marpessa was wondering.

- By "the real Gaia" I presume Neyta is referring to the old Gaiane immortal who ruled the world before she was brought down by Uranos, precursor of Chronos in that position. We don't know yet if she is the one she claims. We have only held shallow hearing with her so far. She claims to have been in a kind of regenerative hibernation for more than 30 years, and thus unaware of the war.

To answer Saretos of Aswee's question, the Giants we have caught and examined were all sterile. But it's too early to say if all Giants are. Last but not least, Marpessa, the number of remaining Giants is a bit uncertain. Ares' last approximation was a figure of 2000 remaining Giants.

- Come on, Athena! Eurytiar of Senartheda let up his thundering voice, isn't there any question you can answer with a clear yes or no?  
- Not yet. It's still to early in the process to...  
- Where's Hermes, the real spokesperson of the Divine King's office? Eurytiar went on.

- He's busy elsewhere. I'm not really representing the Divine King. I'm representing the Defence Project, the organisation started to defend the Union against the Giants. And I'm not a politician. I don't give straightforward but erroneous answers to please someone who is supposed to vote for me. I give the answers I have and consider true. I _will_ get back with more information when I have it. It only happens to be that the last Open Forum of 223 takes part less than a week after our return with the prisoner calling herself Gaia.

Apollon's son Asklepios was next with a request:  
- Athena, I've a wish to see and examine genetic material of Gaia and Echidna. To compare it to other Giants. Should that be possible?  
- I can't see any reason why not. The more talented people studying these material the more we can learn.

I answered some more Gaia questions which were all variations of the first ones. Finally the gods and goddesses in the Open Forum seemed content and went on to pester Artemis' secretary of treasure Maera. Maera is one of those people who never forget a number and she's really talented in maths. Artemis inherited her from Hera, so she has been in her office for almost two centuries now. She's nice enough, the tall, auburn-haired semi-amphibian, but there's something with her voice that makes at least me want to fall asleep.

Soon I found myself with my head resting on Chrysandros' shoulder and looking up at the murals in the ceiling. Once there had been nothing but abstract patterns, but after the doom was rebuilt the artist selected for the decoration had chose to make a representation of us defenders of Ekarantanni instead.

I had to turn my head to see myself, almost right over the entrance. It was the event with me attacking Giants with the spire I had prayed loose from "Spear of Tomorrow". But instead of my burgundies I was wearing a long, white evening gown and an ancient parade-helmet. How can anyone even think of fighting in such an outfit? In fact we all had odd dresses. Dad fought dressed up in his formal Divine King wear, Auroanos had a long cape and an actor's masque and Nike had seagull wings! Then there were Hercules in a lions hide and Sakura in a long, turquoise gown with an enormous belt. Not to mention Hera in peacock feathers. On the other hand Chrysandros looked quite good in a tight fitting black-and silver armour.

- Looking at "us" again? Chrysandros asked while I was stretching my neck.  
- Uhu.  
- Yup, it's fun. Especially on boring exchanges like the one going on right now. I always see something or someone new. Who's that guy behind Zeus by the way?  
- That's... That must be... That's Ganymedes!  
- The catering guy?

- The very one. With a tray of food of course. He was never on the battlefield.  
- No. He's too much of a YUGI. Neither was Maera. Yet she's right there at the end of the rainbow. With a horn of plenty. Very fitting.  
- Oh, right! That's her. Wonder what Iris is doing on top of the rainbow by the way?  
- Colour coordinating her hair. Only thing I can think of.

We had become really close Chrysandros and I after these years in search for Echidna and her mother. Even so close that people regarded us as lovers. All right, we had sex, but that was a mere pleasure thing. Buddy sex - just like it had been with Nardalon. Or perhaps we were in love. I don't really know. What I do know is that we had a great time together. But hardly ever just the two of us. There were always me, Chrysandros, Nike and Aeolus. And most of the time Nardalon, Donin, Melia, Philotes and Akiko too as well as various constellations of sisters and brothers of mine, including non-Olympians like Britomartis and Arcas.

Artemis and Orion on the other hand - they were a couple for real now. After their first failed try ages ago, they had in a way left each other alone. Up until the attack against Ekarantanni. Artemis and Orion had fought side by side, and had fallen for each other a second time. This time it seemed more steady. We were all happy for Mimi - except for Apollon, who for some reason couldn't stand the large Attic.

To be true several things were going on among my closest kins and friends. It was something with the way Nike was shuffling around her feet and pulling at her fashionably straightened out strands of hair that made me understand that something had happened. I leaned closer, looking at my friend, and she breathed in, started to say something, but then she stopped, avoided eye-contact.

- What?  
- Well...  
- Nike, come on! You know that there's no reason for not telling me.

She still didn't say anything, just pulled and pulled at her hair and I insisted:  
- It's me! Athena! Your best friend. We've been talking about everything for two centuries!  
- I guess... I just had to find out...  
- What? Lay off your hair and tell me! Now you've have me cracking up with curiosity.

- Athi, curiosity won the upper hand for me too. I just had to find out if he was as good as everybody was saying.  
- Who? Who've you been having?  
- Your dad...

My friend went totally tomato and I had to swallow all the giggles that started to bubble inside of me.  
- You've been having Zeus?  
- Yeah. In fact... yes. Well, it's not like... Well, he's been trying before, but I've always been... But even you know how talk goes. How fabulous he is at these things, and... I wanted to know if he was, if they all were right.  
- And were they?

More blushing, and a moment of silence before Nike nodded slowly.  
- I'm sorry... she started, but I lay my hand on top of hers:  
- Sorry for what? As long as any feelings didn't get hurt – what do I care? He can't stay away from women. It's a kind of an addiction of his. Not even Hera bothers anymore. I guess it's rather – well not really harmless, but nothing to fuzz over.


	23. Zeus's mercy

**Zeus's mercy**

These days rebuilding the Union kept almost everyone's attention. About 250 immortals had died, including almost the whole Valhalla pantheon, consisting of 22 deities. The ones surviving had been Scade and her daughter and assistant Emdia. Plenitaa had lost 12 deities and the rest of the grand pantheons had lost about 6-8 members each. A lot of them had held positions in need to be replaced.

Then there was the Gaia hearing. Helios, Hestia and Poseidon did most of the questionings. A lot of us were farsighting the event, until Hestia told us to stop, because there was too much disturbances in the chi.  
- You know you will get all the information in the end. In a compressed and more interesting form than those hearings usually are.  
- But they are interesting already, Astraea protested.

At the same time Ares was pouting since my group got celebrated as heroes because of our prisoner. I told him:  
- Who got all the attention during the years when you killed Giants in hundreds? Who was it Apollon wrote heroic epics about back then? Come on Ares, your group has been heroes for almost three years, while no-one hardly remembered us. Now we get it all. The tomato-sauce bottle effect, you know. It's only fair.

So came the day when the final result of the hearings with Gaia was presented to Olympos. It was oddly thin. Really nothing more than what I had told the Open Forum more than a fortnight ago. Gaia claimed that she was the original Gaia. That she had survived Uranos' attempted murder, and remained in a coma for millennia, only to wake up in a world she didn't recognise, and where she was the only Gaiane left.

She had tried to recreate her race from her own egg cells, fertilising them with each other or with other cells of hers. The outcome was hordes of freaks, most of them unable to even survive outside the womb. And the rest with disturbed minds. Only her last attempts had succeeded, producing a bit more intelligent beings, like Porphyrion and Echidna. (I can still hear Hercules making fun about Porphyrion being labelled "bit more intelligent".) Then Gaia had gone back to sleep, with one single thing in mind: regenerating new egg cells. She had placed Echidna as her life guard and Porphyrion as leader of the Giants. That was her last conscious memories before being waken up by me and my team of searchers.

- This means Gaia knew nothing about the war? dad asked.  
- It appears so, Helios replied. As soon as Gaia had gone to sleep Porphyrion took command and sent Giants out to attack the Homo Sapiens mortals. Most attacks were performed by Giants from the large strongholds in Outgard and Isibiria and aimed at the sparse populated provinces in the north, like Valhalla and Alfhem. There the late Thor encountered them, learned of the danger and informed the Union leaders.

- After a lot of damage being done already, Astraea filled in.  
- Yes, but it won't happen again, Hercules assured. We've learned from that mistake. Now we have a guard system that will warn us if something like this comes against Union borders once again.  
- That was said after the Titan wars too, Astraea scolded.

- That system was weak and unreliable, depending on mortal humans who slacked after years and years of status quo, Hercules answered. Now we have employed an electronic warning system, thanks to the research and developement Athena and Hephaistos have been in charge of. But we're digressing here.  
- What will happen to Gaia now? Artemis asked.

- That will have to be taken under consideration, dad answered. I'm planning a visit to this old immortal to gather more information about her.  
- Zeus, there's nothing possible that you can learn from her that we haven't already got, Poseidon said. Let's kill this abnormity now and get over it. I'm sick of these ugly Giants and their tries to damage our realm. I want to put this to an end and get on with real and important things instead.

- Like defending us from the Giants wasn't important? I turned to Poseidon.  
- Of course it was. But let's not drag on with this longer than necessary.  
- No risk of that, Seidy, dad said. I'm only seeing Gaia once. Then lets finish this as you said.  
- Killing her you mean, Zeus?  
- We'll see, dad said.  
- Of course we're going to kill her! Ares shouted. She can't be let to live...  
- Why not? Sakura asked. Isn't it obvious that she didn't know a thing of this war. She was asleep for Faith's sake.

- That's obviously a lie, Demeter stated. Porphyrion must've been ordered to initiate these attacks against us.  
- What makes you think so? Leto asked.  
- Because Porphyrion wasn't intelligent enough to start such a scheme.  
- You don't have to be that intelligent to start a war, Ares stated.  
- Of course not, you're the perfect proof to that, Sakura mocked her brother.

- That's enough, dad said. I will go see Gaia. I think it's absolutely necessary. At least for me to make up my mind.  
- Zeus, you're not the only one to decide what to do with Gaia, the sea god said. The rest of us...  
- I know what you want, Poseidon, dad snapped. An irritated look upon his face. You have stated that clearly enough now. Nevertheless I want to get an impression of this woman. So I'm seeing her. End of discussion.

With those words dad turned and left, togas flowing. Now people started talking. Some were agreeing with Sakura, others with Poseidon, Demeter and Ares. And some, like me, couldn't make up our minds, although I was leaning on agreeing with my brother. I looked at Ares next to me; he was standing with knuckles resting on the conference table arguing fiercely with Apollon. This war had made him smart and self-assured in a way I had never seen him before. For once my older brother wasn't winning the argument against my younger, and for once Ares was not enhancing his words with his fists.

Another poignant change was his hair, Ares had taken the "war-cut" to the extreme, gone was the flying dark locks and replaced by shaved sides and not a centimetre long crop at the top of his head.

- I want to know what takes place in that meeting between dad and Gaia, I told Ares when he finally sat down.  
- So do I, Ares said. Let's farsee!  
- No, dad might notice and get mad at us. Remember how chi-sensitive Gaia seems to be. I have another idea...

O0O0O

Ares and I hid ourselves in the lamp, disguised as light spectra. Then it didn't take long before dad entered the room. Gaia looked up at him, a proud look upon her alien face in spite of the chains that held her.  
- She's... Ares started but I hushed him. I didn't want dad to notice that we had sneaked into Gaia's prison.

- So you have come to see me, Zeus? To triumph over a fallen enemy before killing her, is that so?  
- No, I want to know why you and your kind attacked my realm.  
- Isn't that obvious? Gaia spat. Because it's mine and I wanted it back.  
- You "wanted it back"? dad said. How come?  
- The power was mine once. Why should I not take back what once was mine?  
- Why should you? Why did you want all that power back after all these years? What was your purpose, what did you intend to do with it?

- I... Gaia stopped. Then she changed subject:  
- You killed my children, she screamed.  
- And you sought to kill mine, dad stated, seemingly unbothered by Gaia's outcry. Now answer my question instead and this will all be done and over with quicker.  
- Done and over with... Gaia started.

- Answer me! dad commanded. Why did you attack my realm? What was the reason for you to deny my people the rulers they had chosen? And what did you want to do with that power if you had acquired it?  
- I wanted... Gaia stopped looking at dad and chose to stare down at the floor instead.  
- Isn't it the case that you wanted the power just for the power itself, just like back in the early days when you really held it? dad was asking. Isn't it the case that you didn't care what you did with your power and those affected by it as long as you could bask in the glory of being ruler of the realms?

Gaia made a slight move with her head and her right hand. An affirmation? I don't know. Dad went on:  
- You as well as the Titan Uranos who disposed of you but failed to kill you, and Chronos who finished off Uranos were all of the same kind. You wanted the power and the glory. You wanted luxury and bliss but you had no real clue about what you really wanted to do with all that power. Your kind wanted to be worshipped but you gave your subjects no reason why. You offered them no protection - on the contrary, you threatened them and scared them into subjugation. You took their sacrifices but gave nothing in return. That was what your kind did. And that's why your time is up.

- This is the new era, dad went on. This is the era of Zeus. I offer people - mortals as well as immortals - a new world. A safe and benign world. A world of liberty and justice. The era of Zeus is about democracy, equality, security and progress. The era of Zeus is open doors and freedom of will and of speech. That's why my rule is resting on safer ground than yours ever did. I'm here because people want me to be here. Because I offer people hope. I'm giving them a reason for having me ruling their realm. That's the difference between me and you, Uranos and Chronos.

- I don't remember Uranos' or Chronos' rule, Gaia was spitting. I was in a coma. Struck down by Uranos' nerve poison. For millennias and millennias I slept. Until I woke up to find my world gone and all my children dead. My race was annihilated and the only way to get it back was impregnating myself. But I failed. All that came out were monsters. And all of them fed on my hatred for those who had taken over my world. All of them were the purpose for me wanting to take it back. To get rid of the germs populating it now. Yes, germs! You and your kind are nothing but germs to me, Zeus! You have no right to my world!

- Uranos killed your kind. We didn't. We weren't even around. Then Chronos castrated Uranos and poisoned his land. The Homo Sapiens race back then was purely mortal. They didn't develop immortals until much later. Immortals that Chronos was trying to exterminate.

- I wish he had succeed. His Titans would have been easier for my Giants to beat.  
- Perhaps, said dad. Well, Gaia, you are burned out now. Your regeneration cells are all gone and you have destroyed the ability to create new. You pose no threat to us anymore. But I don't wish see you around here. You scare people with your mere appearance. So I'm having you expelled. You are to go back to your caves in Antarctica and stay there.

- So you're not killing me, Zeus? Gaia sounded more surprised than relieved.  
- No, I have no reason why. I don't kill sentient beings if I don't have a very good reason. And you being conquered and beaten isn't reason enough. Poseidon will be here soon and he'll take you back to Antarctica and release you there. Then you will stay there. Coming here again will mean your end though.

Like on a cue Poseidon arrived. Dad told him what to do and the sea god threw an odd look at dad before obeying. When he had left with Gaia, dad looked up in the lamp and straight at us where we were hiding.  
- All right, Ares and Athena, you can came down now. I guess your curiosity has been stilled.

Reluctantly Ares and I assumed our normal appearances and with humble looking faces we came down in front of dad.  
- How did you spot us? my brother was asking.  
- Oh, I saw you right from the start, children. That was a good trick, disguising yourselves as light. But I sensed your auras anyhow.  
- We... I started.  
- Don't worry, that's a trait of mine that few if any share. No one else would have spotted you. Poseidon didn't and Gaia definitely did not.

Ares, who had regained some of his confidence, asked:  
- Why did you let that monster live. Surely...  
- Just as I told her, I had no reason to kill her.  
- No reason? But she said she wanted to clear our realm of humans, she actually confessed to those crimes she has been denying all the time earlier.

- Ares, that was only snake venom she wanted to spit in my eyes. To provoke me. She was so sure I was going to kill her that she didn't think she had anything to lose by insulting and provoking me. Yet she's harmless now with all her Giants dead.  
- I think that is a mistake, Ares went on. You don't know what that woman is up to, and she's probably filled with the thoughts of revenge right at the very moment.  
- You're right, she is, said dad. But that means little now, because she has no means of revenge. Ares, Athena, you were both among the bravest ones in this war we've just won but now there are other things that need to be done. We need to get this Union back on track again after this long interruption.

- Dad, I said. I agree with Ares. I believe your mercy was uncalled for and that it will serve us no good in the end. I think it had been best for us all if you had killed Gaia.  
- Athena, mercy is one of the major things that differ our kind from the tyrants we replaced. They knew nothing of mercy and chose to kill their defeated enemies wherever there was a good reason or not. Some even took joy in these killings. We have to show that we are better.  
- Show whom? Ares asked. That freak Gaia?  
- She among others.

- I still think it's wrong, I insisted.  
- I know that now, dad answered. Let's leave this question and move on! By those words dad dismissed us and left. Ares was looking at me with worry in his fudge brown eyes:  
- I have a bad feeling about this. I see trouble as a result of this mercy. Poseidon didn't like it either. I'll have a word with mum. Maybe she can make dad change his mind.

O0O0O

I went home to Chrysandros in Dodona to get second opinion. He was not clogged with Olympic loyalties and could see things from an outer perspective I found refreshing and valuable. He got to hear the fate of Gaia while we sat down in the shadow at his patio with glasses of wine. When I had finished Chrysandros looked out over the lake that was glittering in the heat of the late afternoon sun.  
- Your father did the right thing, he said after a while.

- You think so?  
- Yes. He could have killed Gaia. That was the easy decision. It would have benefited him in the short term, showing people that he's a leader who means business and doesn't tolerate oppression. On the other hand - in long terms it would have ended up looking bad, like he was scaring people in subjucation the way Chronos once did. People would end up not daring to even question him.

- Chrys, there's a canyon of a difference between questioning a leaders decisions and trying to kill his realm.  
- Yes, we know that. We who were around for the event. But what do you think will happen in about a hundred years time when all the mortals around are gone and replaced by new ones?  
- How do you mean?

- To the mortals it already looks like Gaia was prisoner of war. A Giant not involved in the killings. If Zeus would have had her killed, the mortals would have seen it as he was killing an innocent bystander to show example. That's why I think you father did the right thing by letting Gaia go. He proved that he doesn't think unnecessary kills and vendettas solve any problems.  
- I guess... ...it makes some sense, I told Chrysandros. But I was still not sure.

O0O0O

Ares, Hera, Poseidon and I met in Poseidon and Amphitrite's Olympic home that night. As usual Poseidon's wife wasn't around.  
- No, said Hera. He won't change his mind about Gaia.  
- Too bad, said Poseidon. Old Eagle has gone soft. He's too scared of loosing his reputation as a benign god these days. I've seen it several times before.  
- He had no problems killing Giants, I defended dad.  
- No, but I'm not referring to this war. I'm referring to other enemies of Olympos and the Union who Zeus has been letting get away with their plotting before.

- Like? Hera was asking.  
- Like these Discordians who threatened to force several northern regions to leave the Union. And the Black-Masques in Atlantis.  
- Zeus had them put on trial and imprisoned, Hera said.  
- That wasn't enough. The Atlanteans were crying for blood. They asked me to help them impose capital punishment upon the Black-Masques. But Zeus denied me and the Atlanteans that right.

- That's beside the point, Poseidon, I said. We have to deal with here and now. Poseidon glared silently at me. Instead it was Hera who spoke:  
- There's still a chance to change this development. Tomorrow is the weekly meeting. I'm going to call for a vote on the Gaia case. If we can get a majority against Zeus we can still finish Gaia. But then I believe it will be you, Poseidon, who have to hold the executing weapon. Zeus will surely refuse.

- I can take care of it if Poseidon will not, Ares started but Poseidon cut him off:  
- Don't worry, I'll deal with that monster, he confirmed. Then I believe that Zeus is not fit for leading neither the Union nor this pantheon anymore if...  
- And who to replace him? You? I scorned.  
- Why not, Athena? You've always been defending him, but time has come to...

- You? Poseidon, god of the waves as Divine King? Now, get real, will you! Do you think you could handle the political work better than dad? The budget, the legislation, the endless debates? Crazy mortal ideas? The political year is nine months long. Nine months when you can't spend time in your palace among the waves. Amphitrite will be even more angered with you for such a long absence.  
- I don't intend to be a politician, Poseidon started, I could delegate and bother with the big questions...  
- Enough! Hera said. This is not a question of Zeus's leadership. If you want to challenge Zeus you won't get my support. And definitely not Athena's or Ares' either. They're after all his children. Anything more need to be said?

Without telling I'd been talking to Chrysandros I presented his points, but Hera said:  
- That sounds like a luxury opinion from someone who doesn't have to make the hard decisions him- or herself. Who doesn't become affected by what happens to Gaia. Have you talked to someone from the outside, Athena?  
- Well...  
- You have all the rights to do so. I just want to point out that an outsider's opinion matters little in a case like this. It costs them nothing. But we have to make the decisions. And eat them raw if they are wrong.  
- Hera, I think... Poseidon started, but dads wife silenced him with a glare and then she stood up.

- Good night now. Tomorrow I'll bring up the Gaia question. 'Till then I will not hear a word about this. Because if you talk about it Zeus will know and then he'll be able to take precautions. The best way to win this case is surprising him.

Ares and I left too. I had never felt so miserable and confused. I hated going against dad in such an important matter, I also hated the thought of excessive killing. On the other hand I also had this bad feeling Ares had been talking about. I felt that this Gaia business was far from over with.

O0O0O

Dad was adressing his wife:  
- So you're still scared of Gaia, Hera? he asked. And you, Poseidon? Do you still believe that a broken woman, an artifact, the last remnant of a dead specie still poses a threat to our society? It was Hera who answered dad:

- I'm not sure if she still poses a threat, but I think I'm better off safe than sorry in this case. I'm going to sleep much better in the nights to come with Gaia gone. Think about our children, Zeus! It's them you're risking by letting Gaia run. We lost Oreynadan and Herophilos in this war. Who will be the next sacrifice on your altar of mercy, Zeus? Whom are you choosing Gaia instead of?

- I'm not choosing Gaia instead of any of us. Nor Olympians neither anyone else in the Union. Gaia poses no threat anymore. She's neutralised. She can't fight anymore and her reproduction abilities are damaged beyond healing by this parthenogenesis she inflicted upon herself. There's nothing she can do anymore, so I chose to let her go rather than ending this war with another pointless kill.  
- We don't agree, Zeus, and this is why we are calling for this vote, Hera stated. If we win, Poseidon will head for Antarctica and finish Gaia off. If we lose you will hear nothing of this anymore.

- But Poseidon has questioned my leadership, dad said. I rose:  
- That's only him. No one else is questioning that. Only your decision to let Gaia go.  
- So let's vote then, Zeus said, and get it done. He was staring at the gathered Olympians, challenging us, and I could feel the energies of uncomfortable minds all around me.

- How many are voting against my decision of showing Gaia mercy? Hands up, Olympians! our pantheon head thundered. I watched Poseidon and Hera's hands come up followed by Ares and Astraea. Slowly I rose mine.

Then others were following. Some firmly and other more reluctantly. Demeter had her hand up, no doubt with Oreynadan in mind and Aietes, Caeros, Iris, Zephyros, Helios, Persephone, Hephaistos and Aphrodite were also rising their hands. After a while came the hands of Ersa and Hebe. When all seemed to have made up their mind Hera was counting the votes. At the same time the big wall clock started to strike midnight.  
- We're winning this, Zeus, she said. We're 16 in favour of a termination of Gaia. You have 15 votes. Poseidon, go to Antarctica and do your duty! The sea god started to rise with a stern look upon his face.

- No! someone was suddenly saying down to my left. It was Cleopatra, that teenage little sister of mine. No, you are not, Hera! The clock has stroke midnight, this means that it's the 23:rd in New Years Month. My birthday. I'm 16 today and of age to vote at Olympos. And I'm voting _Nay_.  
- This changes everything, said Leto who had been sitting with her hands firmly down. Now the result is a draw. So Zeus has the right of using the pantheon head's decisive vote and thus change the decision from Aye to Nay.

I met Hera's look across the room. She held the same mixed feelings in her large brown eyes as I felt. Poseidon swore fiercely and Demeter looked sour but nothing could change the fact that the youngest daughter of Zeus had saved the life of that ancient monster. And - as it turned out - it became the wrong decision.


	24. Mission to Atlantis

_The oracle Ianidra is my own invention, but Dike, Aietes, Pandia and Caeros are "real" gods and goddesses out of the myths, although a bit obscure. _

**Mission to Atlantis**

The goddess Dike is one of the lawyers in dads office. She's a daughter of his ex-wife Themis, little sister to the healers Aeirene and Eumonia, and she works mostly with relations between the provinces and people-groups of the union. Unlike her rather flamboyant sisters she's of the steady, down to earth kind, so I was a bit surprised when she told me it was a matter of life and death on that hot summer's day.

- This is Ianidra, Dike said as a tall, candid-looking goddess rose from her chair. She's the most revered oracle on the Atlantean continent. And she has bad news.  
- For whom? I asked while touching hands with the oracle.  
- For 365 millions, Ianidra stated without moving as much as a brow. Atlantis is doomed.

- What? I felt my jaw drop. She had delivered the news like she had been telling that it would rain tomorrow.  
- Yes, within a year Atlantis will seize to exist, Ianidra went on. The whole continent will disappear beneath the waves of the surrounding ocean.

My eyes went from the oracle to Dike and then back. I took a breath and collected my thoughts.  
- Who know this? I asked.  
- Only the three of us in this room, Dike said.  
- Not Zeus?  
- No, Dike told. Ianidra was visiting me, she was to help me with the outcome for an ongoing negotiation between two battling tribes in the Atlantean province Narimiarig. Make some forecasts of possible outcomes. Instead she got this revelation... Well, perhaps it's better you tell, Ianidra.

Ianidra looked at me and begun:  
- Daughter of Zeus. It was yesterday evening. I was looking into the future but saw only void where there should be the deep forests of Narimiarig. Void and then ocean. First I thought I had made a mistake with the coordinates and tried again. Same result. So I started to research and then I saw the disaster. The Atlantic continent will disappear. Nothing but a few islands in the east will remain. The whole area between the Central Continent and the Americas will be turned into ocean. An ocean almost as large as the Endless on the other side of the globe.

- Chaos! Why? What will cause it?  
- Seismic disturbances. Apparently there has been some rather heavy build-up beneath the continental plateau, and this is going to result in a collapse, where the whole plateau falls down in the core. Combined with earthquakes and volcano eruptions this will not only affect our continent but the whole planet. We are looking at a grand scale disaster here, Athena, probably the worst in modern times.

I uttered some curses, and then I asked why they had contacted me instead of Zeus or Poseidon who after all was one of the most skilled deities when it came to forecasting and controlling seismic activity.  
- We don't want a panic, Dike said. We want the news to stay in the smallest possible circle while we think of something to do. And you're the most reasonable person I know, Athena. You if any would be able to deal with this kind of information, I reckoned.

- So what are your plans? Mass evacuations?  
- Yeah, that's obvious, Dike nodded. And not only of the Atlantean people. But most people living in coastal areas. Since this will cause tsunamis that will go several times around the globe and ravaging all coasts.  
- Then we are talking a disaster in level with the Giant war here, I pointed out. If not worse. We will have to inform Zeus.

- Not even he can stop it, Ianidra told.  
- No, but we will have to involve him nevertheless. He is after all Divine King. He has the ultimate responsibility over all Union territory, so we cannot keep him out. Besides he will be able to add valuable knowledge.  
- No one is talking about excluding Zeus, Dike said. I only said I involved you first, Athena. Since I know you and trust that you keep your head cold and don't do anything stupid.  
- Thanks! I couldn't keep my sarcasm out of my voice. Shall I inform Zeus or will you do it?  
- I think we should go all together Dike suggested.

O0O0O

Dad was silent for an unnervingly long time after Ianidra's repetition of her prophecy. He leaned back in his chair, which creaked beneath his weight and then he drummed his fingers against the armrest.  
- 365 millions of Atlanteans, he pondered. And almost three times as many people living in coastal areas around the globe. Where are we going to move them? And how will we prevent a panic from breaking out?

- Would we come to you if we had known? Dike whispered, looking at the Divine King sitting behind his desk in his Nexus office.  
- Is there anything we can do? I asked. Besides moving all these people.  
- Which we really should be starting with as soon as possible, Dike urged.

- My ladies, dad said. You're right about us having to keep this knowledge in a small circle. Still there are a few more gods we need to involve. Dike, you and I will start sketching on this mass evacuation together with the security head Kandrios of Elesios and the Atlantean delegate Mira. Athena, you will work with Poseidon and Aietes to see if there's any chance to stop this from happening. What is your percentage for a disaster, lady Ianidra?

- It's definite, the goddess said. It cannot be stopped.  
- I'd like to know what Apollo has to say about that, dad commented.  
- He cannot stop it, Ianidra stated. Nor can Poseidon. I'm sorry, Olympians, this is definite.  
- There's no such thing as definite when it comes to the future, dad said. You as an oracle should know that. There are probability estimates based upon heavy 10-dimensional maths, but nothing is ever certain.

- Wishful thinking, Ianidra said.  
- It's not, dad said. I have never been inclined to do wishful speculations. I wouldn't remain in this office if I had. Now I will inform those others. Including Hera. Our group will meet first thing in the morning tomorrow. One hour after sunrise, this will give us an hour before the regular Nexus activities begin.

O0O0O

Closing the door on the summer heat I was thinking about this impending doom. Atlantis to go under! I got some nectar and strolled into my workshop, looking at the half-finished desk computer standing at the large table.

When inventing the microchip five years ago I had only thought of smaller radio- and TV-sets. It had been Caeros who hinted at the computers. He was using them for weather forecast and controlling work. Better computers could also be used to launch a satellite, something we had been struggling with for years. (Our last attempt crashed in the arms of an annoyed Helios).

Now I was working with a tiny little computer like a fancy calculator, upon which you could store information, process texts and so on. I had really no idea what these machines could be used for back then, it was just something to keep my mind occupied with when I was waiting for co-workers to finish their parts of various projects.

I tinkered a bit with the DP (Desk Computer) prototype, and suddenly it was almost dinner time. My mind skipped back to Atlantis and I shivered in spite of the heat. But Atlantis wasn't what was making news at Olympos.  
- We love you all, Sakura was saying. But Irdonan and I have been talking about this for quite some time. We're leaving Olympos and moving to Bithynia to start our own pantheon.

First came silence, then people started to beg them to reconsider, asking them if they were upset or sad over something occurring here, but Kuri and Irdo insisted that it wasn't the reason. They were simply longing for a life of their own, a family of their own. And to see some new horizons.  
- And with Valhalla gone and Nementon dissolved there are only seven grand pantheons left. If we could start the seed of number eight, we would also deliver what is needed in the world, my brother said.

- But what about security? Helios asked. You are head over that organisation. If you're moving to Bithynia, it would be hard for you to run that office. And Sakura's position at the Education Council?  
- We're leaving both, that's no secret, Kuri said.  
- But I have asked Ares, Irdo went on. He wants to take over the position after me. Irdo nodded at Ares who opened his month, but he could hardly utter a vowel before Aietes cut him off:

- Ares? That hothead! Only thing he can do is beating up gangsters. I don't really think...  
- You're far from updated then, Aietes, Irdo said. Ares has been helping me with my duties for years now. And he's fully responsible for certain important parts. Hercules and Cleopatra have been taking over some of Ares' old work in turn. Then I'm promoting this new girl – Nemesis. She's good.

- And it's not like we're disappearing forever, Kuri went on. We will of course come visit now and then. When Dionysos throws a party or something.  
- Then I guess I have to increase the party frequency up here, Dionysos said, which somehow lightened up the gloom a bit.

O0O0O

- Yes, this is quite a build-up, Poseidon said after returning from analyzing trance. A huge, bulging pressure of lava and magma which has nowhere to go but upwards trough several cracks in the ground. It will blast trough, tear the continent apart and sink it. I'll show you.

With fast draws he sketched up a quite accurate map over the Atlantic continent and then he took another pen, a red one this time and started to draw lines running across the paper.  
- Pressure lines. Here is where the continent will break apart.  
- And this is certain? Aietes asked and studied the map while biting his lower lip.  
- Nothing is ever certain, Poseidon said. It's a probability estimation. Athena, you who do this with maths, can you calculate the risks in certain places?  
- Yes, I can, just give me some data to work with.

"Some data" turned out to be quite a lot of information. I would never be able to solve this, there simply was no time. If only I had had that desk computer ready. Sure, I could have borrowed one of the computers down at the university, but then I would have to explain what I was going to use it for. Xanthus was very accurate with who was using his machines and what for. Since dad had pointed out that it was too early to spread the news about the endangered Atlantis outside our limited group, even telling a serious god like Xanthus was out of the question. On the other hand I knew someone who could help me with the desc computer.

O0O0O

Hephaistos' office was, as always, full of trinkets, gizmos and gadgets of all kinds, most of them in various states of disassembly.  
- Have a seat, Athi, if you can find one, my brother called from inside his workshop. I'll be right with you. I moved some manuals, transistors, newspaper-clips, batteries, a broken lamp, a likewise broken food processor and an electric drill machine from an armchair and sat down, putting my feet upon something that had once been a TV set.

After a while my brother came out in the office, looking like trash as usual. People tend to describe him as ugly, but that's mostly because he don't bother. I have met few people caring less about their looks than Hephaistos. All right, he has a too big noose and is all bulky and angular, but he could at least shave more than twice a week and do something to his hair. Like washing it. And his clothes had seen way better days.

I wonder what Aphrodite really sees in this man - a lot of time on her own perhaps, since one can't say that he's demanding. Nevertheless he's one of my favourite brothers. Always in a good mood, interesting to talk with, full of ideas and one of the few persons taking interest in my projects.

This time he threw me something silvery and round, like a little discus.  
- See this? Now listen here. He started to push some buttons and suddenly the familiar voice of Ericlea filled the room, singing one of her usual tragic ballads.  
- Like it? Hephaistos asked.  
- Not really my style... But the sound is oddly clear. No noise.

- That's what I mean. This silver-disk, it's the new record. Forget those plastic discs that get all scratchy and dusty! This is the digitalized sound. The music for the new century.  
- Heph, is this a digital recording? How did you...?  
- First I cleared up the sound then I digitalized it and burned it down on a similar disc to the one you are holding. Then I had to have a player. I tried several things, and settled for a laser reader. Hephaistos lost himself in technical descriptions and this is where other people often tire and ask him to shut up. But I think these things are amazing and we went on talking about digital medias and laser readers for hours and I almost forgot my original errand.

- Heph, I said when I realised that the weekly meeting was due in less than an hour. I want you to help me with something.  
- What? Hephaistos lowered his music (he had traded Ericlea for Tired Tigers rather soon) and came over to me. I used that TV-wreck for table and put my blue-prints on it.  
- This is something I call a desk computer. It's a compressed form of those biggies down at the Ekarantanni University. Something for everyone. For minor calculations. Although it's not geared up. I wonder if you could give me a hand with it.  
- Sure, my brother said. Let me have a look.  
- I want it to be easy to work with. A guy like Poseidon should be able to fill it with data without having too much trouble.  
- User-friendly you mean, Heph said. Yeah, I can do it, sis!

O0O0O

Hephaistos sure is amazing. Only days later he had the desk computer ready for our calculations and showed me and Poseidon how to fill it with data.  
- What is this about, what are all those figures? my brother wanted to know.  
- Earthquake estimations, Poseidon said. By that he didn't lie, just omitted a bit of the truth. He also managed to make it sound as dry and boring as possible, and Hephaistos immediately lost interest and started to talk about new applications for the computer instead.

Soon we were calculating, Poseidon and I – and growling at Aietes who kept questioning the results the computer came up with.  
- Do it yourself, I snapped at him in the end. And Aietes tried, but was soon left behind by the electronic miracle. Even Poseidon became impressed by its prestanda, and he sure is a man hard to amaze. He had seen too much been to too many places.

As the work kept progressing in a steady pace I was glad that Seidy and I had buried the hatchet between us since long. At least something good that came out of the Giant wars, it brought us Olympians together. Of course we can fight and rave and sound really nasty if we like, but most of us feel that our pantheon has grown tighter by the danger we faced back then.

- Athena, we're getting somewhere, Poseidon said one morning and showed me some sketches he had done the night before, when I had been too tired to stay up.  
- Like where? I asked the sea god.  
- I know where the main pressure points lie now. If we could think of a way to drain them we might actually be able to lessen the risk for a total disaster. There's going to be quakes all right. And volcano eruptions. Still... I really hope we can save Atlantis. It has a special place in my heart.

- I know. Seidy, don't hope for too much. First of all, how are we going to drain the pressure from those points?  
- By opening them, Aietes suggested.  
- How? I asked. Drilling a hole?  
- Too risky, Poseidon warned. The earth is fragile. Any mistake and we'll make it worse instead.

- So we just have to be careful, Aietes said.  
- No, we have to think of something else, I told the men. Perhaps if we could drain the magma trough the sub-dimensions. Pump it into the 5D or 6D and have it come out somewhere else.  
- That sounds even more risky, Aietes returned.  
- I'm not willing to rule out any idea yet, Poseidon told. Let's calculate the risks for your solutions. And then we'll talk to Apollon. See if he can make a prophecy.

I gulped. Apollon's prophecy regarding Atlantis had almost been as depressing as Ianidra's.

O0O0O

Then dad was approaching me with an impossible request.  
- You want me to take over after Artemis? The Chair Office of the Hyperpantheon? I stared at dad where he sat in the sofa with hands resting on spread knees and the late afternoon sun shining off the hair he had kept short since the war. He was also still clean shaven, looking more boyish then ever. Such was the fashion these days. Even if you weren't a YUGI you were supposed to look like one.

- Yes, that's what I want you to, Athena.  
- But I can't... I know nothing about politics. I know that you have always held great confidence in me and what I do, but I'm not a politician. I don't know that trade. Neither am I interested in learning it.  
- Moonbeam is a good teacher, dad smiled while using his own affectionate nick for Artemis.  
- Then she can teach anybody. How about Auroanos? Or Alatheia?

-They are both good material. But I want the best. I want you, Athena.  
- Sorry, but no. Why is Mimi resigning by the way? Is it because of Orion?  
- She has held the position for 170 years next year. And defeated several challengers in three elections. It's only natural she wants a release. Wants to try something new. Starchild, think of yourself, fluttering like a butterfly from project to project.

- That's because I chose projects I can finish. Like Athens. And researches. Being a Chair Lady is not connected to any visible goal. That's one reason I don't want the position.  
- Athena... Well, at least Artemis isn't leaving like Irdo and Kuri. She's staying at Olympos with Orion. He actually likes it here, especially since he buried the hatchet with Apollon, what that now was all about.

- Ollie overprotecting his sister, I guess. Why do you think I would make a good Chair Lady in spite of not being a politician?  
- In spite? No, it's because you're _not_ a politician. You have fresh eyes, you talk to people in a new way and you aren't drowned in loyalty fights and old favours owed by everyone and her nymph. Not to mention that you're clever and a great tactician. I'm convinced that you're the kind of person the Nexus needs.

- And you need one of yours in the Nexus, right? Instead of one of Atle's, Akaraia's or Izanagi's people?  
- Partly yes - and partly because everyone know that you're independent in spite of being my daughter. No-one wants a Cybele or an Aestarion who try to kiss my butt all the time. In fact the talk goes like "Zeus's children don't need his approval, so they are the real independent ones".

- Dad, all and everything you have said here and now do apply to Auro as well. Ask him! Or Alli!  
- As much as I love Alatheia, she won't get elected. She's too blunt, and has stepped on too many toes down in the Nexus.  
- How about Hermes?  
- He doesn't want the position either. I haven't asked him but I know that his answer will be no.

- And you weren't expecting my answer to be no?  
- I was. Still I hoped it to be different. Anyhow, I've been thinking of Auroanos too. I'm going to ask him.  
- Great. Don't be sad, daddy! Poseidon, Aetes and I might save Atlantis.

Then I told him about our drainage plan. He was thrilled but skeptic.  
- It won't work.  
- What won't work? someone said behind me. It was Hera who came in, kicked of her sandals and walked up and sat down together with dad and put her arms around him. So I had to retell everything while dad hugged Hera back and started toying with her braids. Hera put her hand inside dads turquoise toga and stated:  
- If Athena says it's going to work it will. Remember the aeroplanes! And recording the farsightings! And the x-ray!

Zeus laughed:  
- What am I going to do with two stubborn women?  
- Find a third who shares your opinion, Hera smiled. I bet Selene'd volunteer. It wasn't hard to understand why you were so quick with saying yes to Helios' request to have his sister becoming Olympian.

Dad blushed and I looked upon them:  
- Now what was that about?  
- Pandia, Hera said and made a face.  
- What has she got to do with... Hey wait a moment!

- We're not going anywhere, Hera said, cuddling even tighter to dad.  
- So Pandia is your daughter? I asked dad. Honestly, I don't think I'm surprised. I feel like I have sisters and brothers in every corner of the Immortal Nation these days. I'm more surprised that you're not tearing up heaven and earth like you used to, Hera.

- I guess I got tired of doing that when it led nowhere, my stepmum answered. Of course I still care, I have only changed my tactics a bit.  
- Yeah, Pandia's mine, dad sighed. I ended up comforting a newly divorced friend a bit too much.  
- Then you had to comfort me double up, poor fool! Hera said.  
- Oh, I didn't mind that at all.

When I rose Hera said:  
- 1000 credits on success for Athena's project!  
- Ladies, the seismic forces are no toys.  
- Poseidon has done these things before, I replied and sat down again.  
- Yes, that's true. But not on this magnitude.  
- So how is the evacuation plans going?

- Slow, dad said. We are looking at it from the other end. Where to relocate all those people. There's hardly any place. Those uninhibited areas are uninhibited for a reason after all. They are too cold and desolate, like Antarctica and Isibiria. We won't get people to move there.  
- But if dying is the alternative? I asked.  
- We hope to not have to let the seriousness of the situation be revealed. But it seems impossible, dad sighed and pushed his fingers through his golden locks.

- Honey, Hera said. People trust you. Especially the mortals. They will move if you tell them to. But if Athena and Poseidon succeed no one has to move.  
- I don't think we'll get this lucky, dad said. Remember that Apollon's prophecy showed the same as Ianidra's.

- Dad, you have confidence in me enough to wanting to promote me as Chair Lady of the Nexus. Even if I almost totally lack political skills. This is something I believe can be done. Trust us, dad!  
- What if I don't?  
- You'll lose 1000, Hera said.

- My ladies. If you're in for a deal, I'll give you 1000 each if Athena and Poseidon can present me with a working solution before the start of the next Nexus session. Because then we will have to inform at least the Hyperpantheon of what's going to happen to Atlantis and what we will do to save lives and property.  
- That's almost three months, I smiled. Consider yourself 2000 credits poorer, daddy!

That night I took a closer look at little Pandia, who was playing with Hermes, climbing on his back while holding on to his light brown, long hair. First I didn't see any obvious resemblances to dad. Pandia was pale-looking like her mother and her uncle Helios. Whitish blond and frizzy hair, gray-blue eyes and porcelain skin. Then I saw that she had dads cheek-line, his (and my) nose and the same kind of large, almond-shaped eyes shadowed by long lashes as Hermes and a lot of others here.


	25. Problems and Solutions

**Problems and solutions**

_There's a myth about Otus and Ephialtes attacking Olympos using brute force. Here I've changet it to become a political challenge for Zeus instead. __And in the myths Asklepios do succed to wake up a dead man, but my story is different._

* * *

I woke up from a dream. I didn't really remember what it had been about from the start, but the final part was clear enough. I had been down in Athens back in its foundation days. Poseidon had been there too with his trident, challenging me over the city.  
- I'll teach you who's in charge here! he had said and hurled the trident at the rock of the Acropolis plateau, where my main temple is located.  
- What are you doing! I yelled at him.  
- Draining the magma, girl! Isn't this the energy cross you've been so preoccupied with? Isn't this the place where magic energies come together? Isn't this where everything can change? Behold!

Poseidon had lifted the trident in the sky and the magma had obeyed him, fountaining up like if it had been water from a broken pipe.  
- Chaos! You're killing Athens! I screamed.

I woke up, entangled in my sweaty sheets, still hearing the sound of streaming magma in my ears, until I realised it was only rain splashing upon the leaves outside my open window. The wind had picked up too and I closed the window kinetically while trying to find a better position in bed and going back to sleep. But sleep failed me, too many thoughts began to assault my brain, and after almost an hour I went up and started to work on this idea that was slowly starting to form inside my mind. The energy crosses...

O0O0O

- You think it can be done? Poseidon asked the next morning.  
- If we work together on this, I told him. I know how to locate those crosses. Then we'll go there and use the forces located around them to open up a quantum flow and tap the energy of the magma that way.  
- And where do we redirect it? Aietes wanted to know. I mean we can't just let it out in the aether. It can blow all kinds of things to smithereens.

- We'll create a 6D flux, I replied.  
- Not even a 6D flux can last forever, said Aietes. And it takes a divine mind to keep it from disrupting. Who will volunteer to do that, you think? Will you?  
- No, we can bind the flux. Not forever, that is true. But we can use it to harvest energy from. Letting it return to the 3D in slow doses and heat up water for running turbines.

- Something similar to a nuclear reactor, you mean? Poseidon asked.  
- Yes. We'll have to get help from Hephaistos again of course. He's after all the one behind the nuclear technology.  
- Then I think we have to let him in on the truth.  
- You're right, Poseidon. We will. But my brother can handle it, I trust him on that. Plus he'll need something to distract his mind on. He's been pouting quite a bit too much over the fact that Ares and Aphrodite had Eros together.

- He has all the right in the world to be mad at them for that, Poseidon said. It was a rotten thing to do.  
- Of course he has, I said. But it benefits no one to continuing being mad. Life must go on.  
- Come on. Poseidon, Aietes was saying at the same time. You did the same once. Remember Herophilos.

At those words the sea god got something dark in his eyes. Anger. And sadness. A lost child, it probably still hurt to be reminded of the dead son.  
- Yeah, I did do that, Poseidon replied with a harsh, strained voice, while clutching his fists. But don't tell me you haven't done the same, Aietes! Or at least enjoyed Aphrodite.  
- That's not true! Aietes sounded unjustly accused. I've...  
- Oh, shut up, I cut him off. We're not here to discuss Aphrodite's appeal.  
- You started it, Aietes said.  
- That means I can stop it too, I returned. Let's get back to work!

Ares wasn't the only love-sick brother of mine . Apollon had directed his charm at Selene, and they were seen together more and more. One night at Hestia's, Astraea dared to guess that Selene would be the one who finally made the music god settle down. Selene was shaking her head:  
- No, I'm still not over the loss of my husband and pantheon. Apollon gives me comfort, but we're not in love. And it's too early for little Pandia too.  
- Too early for what? I asked.  
- Getting a stepfather.

- Selene, I hope you have made Apollon aware of that, I told the other goddess. I'd hate to see him hurt by yet another woman who dumps him. Chaos knows that he's not easy to live with, the way he demands affection and can't stay faithful. But But that's his father's blood. And I love every bit of him, and I care!  
- Don't worry, Athena. We've been talking about it. We're having a good time, that's all.

O0O0O

A few days later Poseidon, Aietes and I flew to Eraganathea in Atlantis. Eraganathea is a city of five million mortals and capital of the Atlantic province Kiruakiun. Just as Athens and most other great cities, it's located upon an energy line intersection. About 50 kilometres away from the energy cross was what Poseidon called "bold 9" one of the smaller of those pressure points that ran like a necklace of horror across the leaf-shaped continent. A reasonable place to start our first drainage-test. Hephaistos together with Caeros and Alatheia were ready to do their part in a closed-down coal power plant back in Sparta.

We had selected the divine core of one of Poseidon's temple to work from. A non-enter spell directed at both mortals and immortals and Aietes as guard should keep our secrecy from curious eyes. Poseidon was the first one to go into trance, with the seismic activity in focus. Next went I, concentrating on the energy of the earth power line intersection. Its forces weren't hard to find, on the contrary, they shone like white beacons in the sub 3D, making the city resting on top of it almost transparent, like it was floating in the air, surrounded by the energies of the sun as well as the earth.

Sunlight in sub 3D is very different from the one we see in normal state. Here you see almost the complete spectra, from radio infra to crackling epsilon waves, turning the normal white into something almost liquid waving between red, blue and the ultraviolets of radioactivity. On the other hand the earth power is nearly white, which gives you a feeling of being upside down and under water, creating an almost nausea vertigo. But I had done this often enough to soon get my bearings and start interpreting the flux of earth power. There was the point I was looking for, the point where the energies came together in a multi-dimensional whirlpool. That one was what we were going to use to tap the energies of the earth core, releasing the pressure upon the continent.

- Poseidon? You're out there? I asked.  
- Yes!  
- You have the seismic energy under control for harvesting?  
- I have. Catch, Athi. And be careful with it, it's strong, hot and fast.  
- I will. Heph, Alli, Cae, are you ready over in the power plant.

I got an affirmative answer from Alatheia and then I counted down to Go! Soon energies were streaming from Poseidon through me and over into the hands of Caeros in Sparta.  
- Not so fast, my little brother was calling back. The steam pressure builds up too quick, the turbines might explode.  
- I'm adjusting, Poseidon told. How many strikes do you want me to go down?

We worked a bit like that until we had created a steady flow that went from the Atlantic "bold 9" and over to the power plant. At that time my sister Alatheia powered down one of the Spartan nuclear plants and connected the flux plant to the electricity grid instead. It was working!

O0O0O

The Hyp delegate Ephialtes of Aload is one of those little unreliable-looking men that give me shivers. His assistant Otus is just as creepy. Now Cleopatra had learned that they were plotting against dad. I had just reported that our plan was working, that Atlantis was going to be safe, when Cleo knocked on the door to dads office and let us know of Ephialtes' plans.

Dad was thinking it over and said:  
- If I'm correct in my assumptions of Ephialtes of Aload, he will probably use the Chair Office election as a backdrop for his attempt at a coup d'etat.  
- By trying to claim that too much power is held within Olympos with both the Divine King and the Nexus Chair Officiant being one of us? Cleopatra asked.  
- That's old news, Alatheia said. If he don't have anything new to come up with, no-one's going to listen.  
- I hope Auroanos is prepared, Hera said. He can lose the Chair Office if you get challenged. It might focus on the Olympic power concentration and while people want to keep Zeus they might vote for one of Auroanos' competitors instead.

But Ephialtes may have though he was smart. He waited until the election was over and Auroanos had defeated a handful of deities. Auro had hardly sat down in Mimi's old chair before Ephialtes challenged the Divine King. His excuse was rigged elections.

Ephialtes claimed that since the election of Hera back in '17 Olympos had rigged all the Chair Office elections. He said that this behaviour proved that the Divine King office was corrupt, and the rule of the Union really a family affair. A dictator-ship, since no-one dared to oppose Zeus and his family these days. So to give back the power to the elected delegates and fulfil the Union Constitution, Zeus would have to go.

Dad answered back, sounding like these accusations were exactly what he had expected to hear from the Aloadian delegate.  
- Do the maths, Ephialtes, if you don't believe me. If I exclude the mortals, six percent of the Nexus politicians are of the House of Olympos. Our pantheon consists of 32 adult members. That's a bit more than 8 percent of the Ekarantannian immortal population. This means that the House of Olympos is actually under represented. But what's a daddy to do when his children don't want to work for him?

The last sentence provoked some laughter, dad smiled back and went on:  
- It's true that the election which put Hera in office was rigged. But not by Olympos. It was staged by a libertarian/radical group who wanted anyone but the candidate favoured by Olympos in office. The four elections which placed and kept Artemis in office, were in the hands of the citizens of the Union. Immortals as well as mortals. These are hard to rig. But if you think they are rigged, Ephialtes of Aload, you are welcome to count the votes. They are all being stored in The Vault of the Nexus. Yes, it's a nightmare of a job. Nevertheless that's the only way for you to be confirmed of the truth if you don't trust the ladies and gentlemen who were performing the vote-counts.

Ephialtes seemed to hesitate by the prospect of counting all the votes, but before he got the chance to say anything, the goddess Mnemosyne of West Arcadia rose for a question:  
- Great Zeus, how do we know that Ephialtes of Aload will not lie about the results if he finds out that the elections have been performed justly?  
- He will be surveyed of course, dad said from the platform.

Some more questions were asked and answered while I was watching from my place at the spectator's balcony. Most of the times the debates down in the Golden Hall are rather dull, but this event woke some real discussions. Not about dad, it was only Ephialtes and Eneis of Midgård who seemed interested in challenging him. But about the possibility to rig a general election.

The Golden Hall - named after its gold-mosaic walls - was filled almost to the brim with deities, who in their colourful, and glittering dresses and sparkling auras made this large room shimmer with energies. Energies that even paled the sunlight shining in from the high windows. I understood why this large room was considered too small. The Divine Assembly - The Hyperpantheon - was supposed to move over to the Great Hall - the present hall of the Mortal Assembly, as soon as their new Union Hall was finished.

At last Ephialtes caved in, to some applauds and provocative comments. Dad thanked for an interesting debate and left the podium. One quick glance up at the spectators balcony and a smile. And another, filled with contempt and directed at Ephialtes of Aload who had sat down again together with Otus.

O0O0O

- And you don't think anyone will notice when you start shutting down nuclear plants? Cleopatra asked. It was the weekly meeting and we had just informed the Olympians of the seismic activities beneath Atlantis and how we were working on saving it from impending disaster.  
- No, it's our own plants, Caeros told. The ones I run. My mortals are perfectly loyal and don't question why we are switching plants as long as they get paid for their work. And besides they don't notice the difference between a nuclear reactor and a flux ditto.

- So what you guys are doing is saving Atlantis by turning off nuclear reactors and employing the needed amount of flux reactors instead, Apollon asked.  
- True, I replied.  
- But how do you know how much energy is needed? Artemis asked.  
- By computer calculation.  
- Isn't there a risk you drain too much of the seismic energies? Artemis again.  
- No, it's not, Poseidon said. If we drain enough the pressure simply stops and we will have a minor earthquake as a warning. And by minor I mean something only sensitive immortals like yours truly can sense.

- And how about the electricity? Leto wanted to know. What's the difference between electricity coming from this flux setup of yours compared to regular electricity?  
- Nothing of importance, dad answered. It's true that the energy to produce this electricity flows through the sub 3D...  
- Sub 6D I corrected him. He shrugged and went on:  
- But there's only a minor difference in the energy signature. Nothing that affects tools run by electricity. This actually means that Poseidon and Athena's group have not only saved Atlantis for us, they have managed to find the embryo for a new energy source.

Then dad called for a break. I got some chance to harvest fresh gossip from Iris while we were collecting nectar and ambrosia from the buffet table.  
- What's with Ares and Aphrodite? They seem to avoid each other like plague these days.  
- Ares has given Enyo a son. Enyalos, Iris told.  
- I thought it was over between those two since years.  
- I guess all of us did. But who can tell with Ares.

O0O0O

So came the scary event with Asklepios. I was sitting with dad, Eos and Apollon in dads office discussing something semi-important when suddenly Persephone bursted through the doors with a pale face and Apollon's unconscious son in her arms. The tall and slender doc looked badly in need of healing himself. His aura was dull and week and his chakras had slowed down to a dangerously low pace, almost only skidding.  
- Apollon, help your son! He's dying and I can't hold him anymore! Persephone cried.

My brother rose fast and ran over and grabbed Asklepios, sat down on the floor with the lifeless body. Tears started to flow down his cheeks, not since his teens had I seen him crying like that before.  
- What happened, what did he do? I asked my cousin while Apollon started to work on his son, Zeus coming to his help.  
- Get Eleithya! he ordered Eos, who closed her eyes, started to mind-search for my sister.

- He wanted to trip, Persephone started. Asked me to ward him. First I was kind of surprised, thinking why would he need me, since he was only running around in the sub-3D. Then we encountered what he apparently was looking for. A traffic accident. A mortal on one of these big, powerful motorbikes. The biker was hit by a truck, and the poor mans back snapped like a stick. It still surprises me how fragile mortals really are.

- He died instantly, Persephone went on. Then I understood what Ask wanted to do. He entered 6D mode fast, started to go after the mortal's soul, tried to pull him back again.  
- Saving his life? I asked.  
- How far ir was he? Dad wanted to know.  
- 39/648:th curve, my cousin said.  
- That's way too long. Beyond 20:th it's too late. Even for one of us. You know that, Peri, didn't you tell Ask?  
- He wasn't listening. He wanted to save that man's life so bad.

- Why? Who was he? I asked.  
- No one! That wasn't the point, Ask wanted to show that he could wake up a dead man. But he began to be pulled down with the mortal and I lost my grip on him. Couldn't hold him. I'm sorry, Apollon. Peri started to cry even more and I took my cousin in my arms, pulled her close to me, feeling my own eyes wet.

- Chaos! Dad said. Was he out of his mind? Haven't I told him, haven't I told everybody that such a thing can't be done? Not beyond the 20:th! Metis' cousin Inarnana tried, and she died. And so did Inarnana's daughter Isigi. Metis showed me why it was impossible. The pull becomes too strong, you can't stop it. Not even the mightiest immortal can. It's beyond the laws we function by.

After a while and with the help of dad and Apollon, Ask started to come around again, and then there was Eleithya ready to help him mend his tormented soul. Dad had Asklepios swearing by his heart to not do such a thing again. That wasn't really hard – Asklepios was too scared to try bringing back another dead. He knew, that hadn't Peri been so fast and hadn't both dad and Apollon been around to fetch him, he would have died for sure.

- Not even Hades can do these things, Persephone told. He tried once, with a mortal named Eurydice. Just out of curiosity. Got her as far as 618/1489/2528. Then the pull became too strong and Eurydice fell again. The only way to return someone is normal reincarnation. It has to work that way. We can't change everything.  
- Not yet, I said.  
- Don't you start anything, Athena! dad warned me.

- Not after what I've seen here today, I assured the gathered group. Besides, I have other things to do. Seismic energy for instance. By the way, dad, remember the Atlantis bet! You owe me and Hera 1000 credits each!


	26. Typhon

_The monster Typhon was a kind of sequel to the Giant War in the myts. It was Gaia's revenge because the gods killed the giants - her children. In this chapt rI'm staying true to the basic frame of the myth even if it contains my own steampunk elements + some added characters. For instance I don't think Enyo, Hercules or Caeros were involved in the battle against the beast. _

* * *

**Typhon**

The real threat to dads position - and even more than that - came a couple of years later. It started with a call of distress. The little pantheon Kairade in Nanara had been attacked by a monstrous brute reminding of the Giants we had defeated 40 years ago.  
- I'm the only one surviving, the god Arxaron was weeping. My parents, my grandma, my sister with family. My beloved Ilnanda! All gone!  
- Was it a Giant? Hercules mindspoke the man in the sight pool, sounding all business.

- I can't think of what else it might've been, Arxaron replied huskily. But he was twice as big as the ones we defended ourselves against in 221. At least. And unbelievable powerful!  
- Why did the creature spare you, Arxaron?  
- I... I don't know... I...  
- It killed your whole pantheon and then just left?  
- Y... yes...  
- Did you see what direction it took?  
- No clue...

- Can I talk to him?, I asked my little brother. Hercules nodded and then I turned to Arxaron, made him notice me:  
- Arxaron, come here as fast as you can! You're in a state of shock. You need a healer. And we need to know about this attacker.  
- I'm unharmed, Athena.  
- Physically you might be. But you need a soul healer. You need someone to talk with.

After ending the fartalk with Arxaron I told Hercules I was certain that this creature was heading for 'Tanni and that it was serious enough to gather the Extended Security Council for an emergency meeting.  
- I'm mindcalling them all. You find Eleithya, tell her how bad off Arxaron is, and that he's going to need help immediately so he can bear witness to the Council without breaking down.

O0O0O

When poor Arxaron had finished his story he was met with an awkward silence. The Extended Security Council had not only been listening, they had been watching the memory-pictures Arxaron had 5D projected on the wall screen. Kandrios of Elesios was the first to speak:  
- That's one curse of a Giant.  
- If it's a Giant at all, dad said.

- What else could it be? Enyo asked, nervously twisting one of her black curls which had come loose from her knot. Her dark brown eyes were darting from the screen pictures to Arxaron and then back again.  
- No sure, dad went on. This thing is bigger than any of the Giants we encountered back in the 220:ies. And it looks more - how should I say - thwarted.

- Come on Zeus, Cassiopeia exclaimed. It's a monster for Faith's sake! A complete freak. You don't have to be polite.  
- And it's definitely malign, Ares stated. Now how are we going to deal with it?  
- Terminate it of course, Donin said.  
- Yes, that's obvious. But how? We don't know it's week points yet.  
- Then let's find out! Donin again. Ares rolled his eyes.  
- Of course! But we don't do that by storming ahead without intelligence and necessary preparations.

It felt kind of funny in the middle of this terror, hearing Ares lecturing a young hothead. Ares, who had been the hothead himself for so many years. Then the Gaian wars had taught him this and that about planning ahead and not rushing into things. Expensive lessons, paid with divine lives. But Ares had learned. He was using his brain this time. And Cassiopeia, back at the Mayor-immortal position again after Telganestros' death, was grasping the seriousness with an external threat now. Security was not only about mortal criminals to round up and lock in.

We were discussing this for almost an hour, and replaying the filed memories of Arxaron twice. In the end it was decided that a group led by Ares and me should try to trace the monster before it reached 'Tanni. All of us were convinced that it was coming here. Ares and I took Hercules with us and managed to convince Cleopatra to stay at home. We also enlisted Akiko, Orion, Arcas, Enyo and Aeolus.

It didn't take long for Hercules to find the monster. It took an even shorter time for seven other immortals to abandon me.  
- We're getting Zeus, someone was screaming behind me. Then I was alone, facing the worst nightmare anyone can imagine.

Twice the size, Arxaron had said. That had been an understatement to say the least. This creature was huge. At least 12 meters high and two meters broad. Reptile-like skin, huge fangs and claws. Wings! Yeah, wings. Like a bat. And the eyes - they were worst of all - gleaming with weird wickedness, madness, lust for blood.

I really should have fled too. Armed with only a machine-gun and an adamantine spear I was kind of powerless. But for some reason I was holding my ground. If I could just distract this monster, it would be possible for a greater force of deities to reach it in time before it entered the outskirts of Ekarantanni. I could only imagine what damages this creature would do to Capital City if it reached it. With 10 millions of mortals and no real defence, except for its immortals, 'Tanni was vulnerable in a situation like this.

I was scanning the monster, searching for weak points. I soon understood that the gun couldn't harm it, the bullets were too tiny, too week to even penetrate that thick, scaled skin. So I threw the gun away. The spear? If I could pierce one of these evil eyes, I might reach the brain, do some harm. And the thunderbolts? They would work, aimed at the right points.

Then the creature spoke!  
- Behold Typhon, it hissed. Behold Typhon, little louse. Behold your worst nightmare. And your last. When I have played with you for some time you're going to beg me to kill you, little louse!

The next moment the monster - Typhon - breathed fire upon me, and I was engulfed in flames. But I was already shielded. Instead the flames worked as some kind of screen. I dived down and Typhon fired again, this time setting the forest on fire. Exactly as planned. Hidden by the flames I sneaked away and moved fast until I was directly beneath the freak. It was nude. Fine. And it - he - had some kind of male organ, looking like one of the old time airships.

I took aim for it and launched myself in the air, spear ahead of me and pierced Typhon's pride, trashing it and ripping it in half. The monster's screams filled the sky and echoed off the mountains so I had to shield my ears to not have my eardrums popped. But somehow his scream affected my inner ear, causing vertigo and I crashed to the ground, landing hard among burning trees.

Cursing I rose again, still holding on to my spear and looking for Typhon. He had stopped screaming, seemingly distracted by something. Yes! It was enforcement. I saw dad ahead of a group of deities. Ares, Hercules, Orion and Enyo among them, the others of the scout group had apparently bailed out. I called out to dad, and he called back. Then we both attacked with electricity. Typhon was surrounded by sparkles, but seemingly unaffected. And he called dads name.

- Zeeeeus, he was hissing. Zeeeeus, prepare to diiiiiie!  
- The Chaos I will, dad screamed back, seemingly unafraid. Go back to where you came from or you'll be the main coarse at Kerberos' Joint tonight. Typhon only kept repeating his:  
- Zeeeeus, prepare to diiiiiie.

- Lets try more volts, Dad called out to me. Caeros, Auroanos, help me and Athena! We fired again, with hair rising at our necks by the extreme forces. But Typhon didn't fall, he seemed to not even react on electricity. Instead he was breathing fire, aiming at my electric brothers. Even if everyone was shielded, and remained unharmed, the flames made Auro and Cae loose focus and miss their target.

The monster lashed out, almost hitting Auroanos, who ducked and threw a sticky grenade at Typhon. But when it exploded it hardly did any harm, only scratching the skin of Typhon. I could hear Auro curse.  
- We'll need bigger arms. Rocket guns!

- Or rather some kind of bombs, Caeros answered. He aimed at Typhon's face, and managed to blind the beast temporarily. That only stopped Typhon for a while, the next attempt to blind him was without success, and Caeros had to dive to avoid getting hit by one of those man-sized fists.

Then Typhon stopped bother with my brothers, instead he was heading for dad. The rest of the deities had been staying in the background, but now some of them, led by Hera, flew up and created some kind of shield between the monster and dad. A strong Aegis was materialising. But dad stopped them:  
- Put that down! We must attack here, defensive movements can wait.

Zeus had realised that he was getting nowhere with thunderbolts and instead attacked with a strange, shining force. It looked like a blade, but it was made of spiritual matters, odd pseudo-atomic structures holding it together. This was something which shouldn't really be in these dimensions, but dad was handling it with care. I had never seen him so focused before, his aura held only one colour, one aim - to attack this monster and at the same time balance this out-of-this-realm matter so it didn't harm what it wasn't supposed to harm.

- What's that? Hermes' voice behind me. A nuke?  
- Hardly. It's... It's... I don't know. Something dad has that... I do not know. I shook my head, glancing at my brother.  
- It's a nuke all right. Helios' voice. But not 3D. It's extremely dangerous. Zeus must be really afraid, to develop such a thing here and now in the heart of the Union.  
- What can happen if it goes off? My mouth was dry.  
- He might kill - at least half the planet, Helios whispered.  
- Holy... Chaos! Hermes exclaimed, with a voice stating that the curse was far from enough.

Typhon had also seen the strange weapon Zeus had armed himself with, and now he was retreating. First slowly, and then he turned around and fled, with dad after him.  
- Come, let's follow! I urged.

The next moment I, Helios, Hermes, Hera, Astraea, Ares and a youngster named Aegipan were tracing the fleeing monster and the chasing Divine King. Hercules, Orion, Nemesis and Enyo did also come along but they were not fast enough and were soon left behind.

We caught up with the setting sun out over the Western Ocean, way down south. There Typhon had turned to fight again, and dad traded the mystery nuclear force for an adamantine sickle he was attacking the monster with. Typhon screamed his nightmare scream when dad cut off several of the fingers on the monster's right hand.

_Dad, watch out for the scream_, I mindcalled, but too late. Dad was hit by the vertigo, lost his balance and fell down in the water. Seconds later we were hit by the airwave and affected too. Dad returned out of the water fast, but without the blade, and he was retching, obviously sick with nausea. I was holding on to Astraea and Hermes, preventing them from falling. Helios and Hera had managed to cope a little bit better. Aegipan in turn had grabbed Hermes and thus avoiding the fall. But Ares dissapeared down in the water and I lost sight of him.

At the same time dad was ducking the monster's grabbing fists, somersaulting through the air and kicked Typhon in his cheek, and the monster began to spew blood and teeth. But when he screamed again dad seemed to skid in the air and was falling, mindcalling out a cry of distress and becoming an easy catch for Typhon.

- Let's help dad, I called out, and we raced against the monster. But now he had learned what his voice could do and kept screaming. The Aegis didn't help this time. Not against sound waves. Or maybe we weren't employing it the right way. Typhon had caught dad, was holding him in his undamaged, left hand. Even if he couldn't crush him - dads shielding protected him - the monster kept him from breaking free, and at the same time sucking out his life-force.

- Chaos, the beast is killing Zeus, Helios was saying. And we can't get close! The nearer we go the worse the nausea gets.  
- I don't care, Astraea snapped, and before anyone could stop her, she was attacking Typhon with her sword drawn. The screaming monster turned, lashing out at my sister with his wounded right hand and Ea tried to hack away at Typhon. But the blade was only steel, and didn't bite on the thick skin of Typhon. The next moment he stroke my sister down, and when she fell Hera dived, caught Ea, and with an almost unbelievable speed hauling her daughter out of danger.

Now Helios and I saw our chance. I was still carrying my spear, and while Sunshine Boy distracted the monster with fire I aimed at Typhon's right eye and drew the spear in hard. I got a barely notable mindcall from dad: _Use... electricity_. So I did, transferred it through the spear and tried to fry the brain off Typhon. But Typhon turned and I lost the grip of the spear, and then he struck down Helios, who fell, rendered unconscious by the combination of screams and blow.

Typhon was fleeing again. Still holding dad. And with Hera, Hermes, Aegipan and me after. Astraea returned east with the injured Helios. And still no Ares in sight! What could have happened to him?

Even further south west was a large island, mountainos and with a large cave opening in front of us on the southern mountain wall. The monster fled into that one, and we dived after.

The beast turned, threw dad to the ground and faced the remaining four of us. Hera took my hand, it was ice cold. _Zeus is dying_, she mindspoke. _No, he'll be all right_, I mindspoke back. But I feared I was wrong. I couldn't feel his energies anymore. All those sparkling primary colours that used to surround him were gone. Was Hera right? Was I losing my beloved father?

Typhon's screams threw us all out of the air, and I didn't know what was up and what was down, until what obviously must've been down hit me with full force. No Aegis employed and only half-shielded I took a hard blow that almost knocked me unconscious.

Then I saw Hermes dragging a barely conscious Aegipan towards dad. _Save... Zeus..._ That was my brother. The two men reached my father. He was lying unmoving on the rocks, looking like a marionette someone had cut the strings off. Pale skin, closed eyes and half-open month. I felt terrible, miserable seing him like that, but a shadow of his powerful, wonderful self. But he wasn't dead. There was a faint flicker of energy around him.

Next moment it all went dark. But it wasn't unconsciousness. Typhon has moved a big boulder before the opening, and the men and I were obviously locked into the cave.

The next thing I noticed was Hermes' plasma ball. I brought up one too, located my brother and Aegipan. They were both sitting with Zeus working on bringing him back. But where was Hera? And where was Typhon?

Hermes turned to me, he looked oddly pale in the green light of the plasma-balls:  
- The monster has some strange powers. It sucked almost all energy from dad when it held him. Go out and help Hera, Athi! She's alone out there with the monster. But watch out for its hands! Meanwhile we'll get dad back in shape Aeg and I.  
- Great! I could barely wisper.

I rose, still a bit rubber-legged, went over to the opening and directed all energy I had left into strength. Then I moved the boulder enough to be able to squeeze out of the cave. Next thing I fell down on dry grass, unable to move. But I reached inside of me, finding hidden reserves of strength, with which I managed to rise and then focus on the rays of power from the setting sun, turning them into energy I could use.

I had never done such a thing before, it felt strange, tickling all over, but it worked. I felt strength return, and with it anger. Curse that beast, where was it now? Yes, there, trying to chase down Hera, who was ducking and fleeing, engulfed in an Aegis protecting her even from the monster's screams. But she was also loosing energy and concentration, not so much because of the chase but because of a feeling of hopelessness. She was convinced of having lost her beloved, and was on the brink of giving up too.

_Hera_, I mindcalled. _Hera!_ She turned, looking at me. _It's no use anymore. I..._ Then Typhon hit her, and she fell, still conscious, but with an uninterested look upon her beautiful face. I jumped in the air and got her away only milliseconds before the big hand of Typhon caught her. Then we were landing on the ground, me holding Hera hard.

The next second someone was screaming. It wasn't the monster, it was - dad! Typhon turned in the direction of the scream, only to be hit by the very same boulder he had tried to lock us in with. The monster, blinded by my spear, didn't see what was coming, failed to duck and took the bolder right in the temple. Typhon staggered around a bit and then he fell to the ground, loosing his balance on the rocky sloap, and slided down in the midst of an avalanche of everything from boulders to pebbles and crashed against a huge rock.

Dad had found a second boulder, even bigger than the one before (but where did he find the strength?) and hurled it at Typhon. This one hit right on target, and dad called out:  
- Help me, girls! I turned to look at Hera, she was teary eyed but alert. Then we too grabbed boulders and started to throw them at the monster. Typhon soon became buried beneath a large pile of stones.

- That'll do it for the bastard, I guess, Hera said with a stern voice.  
- Not really, dad answered her. But this will do! Dad focused, the air crackled and the stones turned to lava. And beneath the melting stone we heard the most terrible of screams. The death-cry of Typhon. Instinctively Hera and I hugged each other, squeezed our eyes together. The next millisecond a feeling of spiritual vacuum rush as Typhon's wicked soul disconnected from the body to fall ir to the waiting Hades.

Then there was silence.

And then Dad was with us, hugging us both. The next moment Hermes and Aegipan arrived, to receive the same kind of affection.  
- Let's go home! dad said. And we hadn't a hard time obeying.

O0O0O

- Where did it come from? Astraios wondered. Almost the complete Olympos together with some other deities were sitting in the large conference room of the main building. Including poor Ares who apparently had spent a night at the bottom of the sea, before he managed to get himself together and stumble back home to Hestia's fire and hot cocoa. Dad was his usual self again after a good night's sleep. A bit pale, that was true, but then he had never in all his 300 years been in such a great danger, not even when battling Chronos. I believe he also suffered from some kind of after-shock.  
- It came from Gaia, he said, waiting for our responses.

Some spread talk could be heard around the large ebony table. Caeros made an attempt at joking but was only met with stares. Hera took dads hand and Artemis and Astraea were whispering between themselves. Hestia did a discrete late arrival and sat down beside Selene.  
- I had Triton locating the cut-off fingers of Typhon, which fell in the sea, dad went on. He retrieved one and it was brought for DNA analysis. It turned out to be an exact match with Gaia. As well as with Echidna, Porphyrion and the rest of the Giants.  
- So she cloned herself again? Orion said. I though she had emptied that possibility after what she did to her egg cells. This parthenogenesis thing.

- So did we all, dad told. Even Paean of Plenitaa, the best medical scientist there is, was convinced that Gaia had rendered herself infertile. That was one of the reasons I let her go. But apparently we were wrong. I was wrong, I misjudged this Gaia. I made a dire mistake and had to pay for it.  
- I could have told you so, Poseidon said.  
- It was not your fault, I said. Not entirely yours. Remember, we voted on this at Olympos.  
- You look fine enough to me, Zeus, Leto stated at the same time.

- I am fine, that's true. But it's not about me. It's about Arxaron. Dad turned to the younger god:  
- You lost your whole family, your pantheon, because of my mistake. I wish I could in some way pay you back. Name something - anything I could do to somehow make it up! A new home in Ekarantanni for instance.  
- No, Arxaron said. I must go home to Nanara. My parents, Derlior and Nyra are dead, that's true. And the rest. Ilnanda... But it's not your fault, Zeus. How could you know...

- Two more gods are dead, Iris, sitting next to me, told.  
- Who? Hera wanted to know.  
- Akressos and Idan. They just happened to come in Typhon's way when he was heading for Ekarantanni. Persephone learned about them and sent me to retrieve their bodies. They have been brought back to their mother for a last farewell.

- Not another death! dad exclaimed. How many...  
- They were the only ones, Iris confirmed.  
- That's more than enough, dad sounded devastated. Way more than enough. 11 dead deities! And I still haven't got the exact number of dead mortals. This must end now. Gaia is to be found and terminated once and for all.

- Are you sure this is Gaia's doing, Zeus? Cassiopeia asked. Surely another lingering Giant could have created this freak. Remember, they all share the same DNA.  
- There are no more Giants left, Ares said. We killed them all. Cost us 226 divine lives all in all. But we sure killed them all. Could only be one. Gaia.  
- What if someone survived then? Cassiopeia insisted. Someone somewhere, hidden away in...

- Cassiopeia, there was no-one hiding away, Ares sounded certain. We had the best people there is looking for the Giants. Irdonan, Hermes, Astraea, Nyx, Kallirhoe, Arcas, Dernigal. I assure you, Mayor, they found each and every cursed Giant there was. The only one left is Gaia.

- We showed Gaia mercy once, dad stated. She repaid us with sending this monster. Now she has lost every chance there is of surviving. We will have to track her down and finish her off once and for all, no matter if she's harmless or not at this very moment. Artemis, Hermes, Astraea! It'll be your mission to find this woman. Take Arcas and Nyx with you! I don't think she's hiding in Antarctica anymore, so look all over for her! But don't engage! She's still dangerous, and she might have other monstrous offspring tucked away for us. Hestia, Athena, Ares, Hercules, Helios! You are to follow me when I go after her.

When we finished our meeting I saw Alatheia walking up to Arxaron, taking his hands:  
- Are you sure you want to go back to Nanara alone? she was asking.

- Nanara needs me, Arxaron answered. Except for my brother, delegate Kirilan, I'm the only god in Nanara now.  
- Then let me come with you. As company and...  
- Forget it, Olympian! I don't need your pity!  
- It's not... Alatheia started, but Arxaron turned and walked out of the room. Alatheia remained standing, with a lost look on her face.

Next second Artemis was whispering in my ear:  
- She has a crush on the Nanaran. Ea told me.  
- Poor thing, I turned to my big sister, Alli has not been herself since she broke up with Tiaros.


	27. Gaia

**Gaia**

Some tense months followed while Artemis' group was tracing Gaia. We were all expecting bad news. Either another Typhon, five times worse, or that Gaia had been found, and in the event lashed out and harmed or even killed another of us. Even the lack of news was disturbing. I found myself spending hours talking to Hera or Nike. Or seeking comfort with Chrysandros. I don't know how many times I retold the Typhon event, resting my cheek on his broad chest and looking into his kind and gentle dark eyes. I wondered if I was falling in love.

Speaking of love, Aphrodite surprised at least me by doing something unselfish for a change. She went to Nanara to see Arxaron - and I could have bet a temple-complex that her mission was "seducing Arxaron". But apparently she went there to tell him that Alatheia cared about him, and that her interest in his well being had nothing at all to do with pity. After that Arxaron came visiting Olympos for a few days, and when he left Alli followed him.

Then Artemis, Hermes and Astraea returned with the words:  
- We know where Gaia hides.

O0O0O

The next thing I knew I was on my way north-east together with Ares, Hercules, Artemis, Helios, Hestia and dad. We were using stealth-shields, hiding our forms, our thoughts, our very auras from the Giant queen. No one knew exactly how dangerous she was. She had been an easy catch back in the 220:es, but then she had been in hibernation for about 30 years, and was weak after the long sleep. But now - she had been able to create a monster like Typhon. Who knows what she could have turned herself into.

- Don't forget, dad warned us, that this was the woman who controlled an entire world and its population for more than 5000 years! She was dangerous back then, so she can't be harmless now. And if she sent Typhon against us, we certainly won't be her favourite guests.  
- I'm still not sure she's the "real" Gaia, Hestia was saying.  
- Does it really matter? I asked. She's out to get us, Typhon proved that much. If she's the real Gaia or not is completely uninteresting, if you ask me.  
- Athi's right, Hercules said. Since we don't have any way to find out. I presume there are no "real" Gaian DNA anywhere.  
- None we can consider hers for sure, dad said.

Gaia's lair was located among the mountains of Gelmeria, east of the great tundras of Isibiria. This is a cold and barren land, probably the most desolate place on Earth, not counting Antarctica. Artemis was leading the way across mountains so high they ended in the stratosphere and you had to recycle your oxygen while crossing them. Almost nothing lived here, not even birds.

_Over there_, Artemis mindspoke and indicated a gap between two mountains. I could sense that behind the snow and a wall of ice was a cave. Scanning for life I felt an alien, but at the same time familiar aura. Gaia - the Giant queen we had found sleeping in Antarctica 40 years ago. We flew down, still stealthing, and gathered around the hidden cave-opening. Dad mindspoke: _Let's go in. But first - whatever happens to any of us - don't run away! Do all you can to kill Gaia! Remember what I said all those years ago - the war is not over until she - the one behind - is caught. _

_Or dead_, Ares replied. _Or dead_, dad confirmed. He rose his left arm, the snow fell down and the wall of ice melted and vaporised. With his right hand he generated an Aegis, placing it in front of us. _Let's go in! _

Gaia was hiding deep inside. We had to squeeze through narrow passages, willing away the very stone. Hercules stopped for a while on the way and filled his pockets with found nuggets of gold. I couldn't help smiling at my little brother. If we died - what good would the gold do him? And if we survived we could always come back for it - with back packs.

We crossed a big cavity with a large and deep underground sea which mirrored our plasmaballs, casting off strange effects on the walls. Then we suddenly felt Gaia start retreating further into the mountain. She had noticed us in spite of our stealth-shields.  
- Keep moving, dad spoke. Now, when Gaia knew we were coming, it was no need to keep silent.

A labyrinth of narrow paths, sometimes blocked by stones or stalagmites and stalactites. And always this retreating Gaia.  
- Can she really have been living her all the time? Hestia asked.  
- Was here we found her, Artemis told. And she's here now.

Then a terrible laughter echoed somewhere in the mountain, and the next moment the being disappeared.  
- Chaos, she had a back door! Ares cursed. Now we're loosing her.  
- No! dad answered. Shield! Then the mountain exploded in front of us. A huge part collapsed in a tremendous thunder and the Earth shook. The next second we were out in the open. For the first time we saw our prey.

Gaia had stopped in mid-air, surprised by the explosion behind her. She turned around and for a second I met her alien yellow eyes. Almost like Typhon's, the only difference that these held intelligence. The next moment blue fire shot from her hands, setting the air ablaze around us.

- The oxygen! Artemis screamed. Then she fainted and lost her footing on the mountain wall, tumbling down in the ravine. Hestia dived after her. The whole air was on fire and I heard the thundering sound of an avalanche beneath me as the fire melted the snow. I managed to jump over the flames and out of the inferno. Once again I met Gaia's hatred-filled eyes.  
- Murderers, she said. She didn't scream, but spoke with a strong voice. Then she turned and headed into the sky.  
- Don't let her get away! Dad roared behind me.

I chased the alien witch, flying over the mountain range, gaining slowly on her. When I almost had her she turned and shoot more blue flames, before realising that my shielding protected me. In return I tried to electrocute her, only to find that she had employed some kind of shield too. This was new, neither Typhon nor any of the other Giants had had any natural shields. Typhon had been protected by his thick skin and the other Giants had simply died of electric chock.

For a moment we halted in the sky, measuring each other. I realised I had left the others behind me. There was only me. And Gaia.  
- So, you are Zeus's favourite daughter, the ancient monster was saying. That'll be a nice enough kill, even if it probably will be my last. Revenge at last upon the man who killed all my children. Now he'll see how it feels.  
- You talk to much, old hag, I said.

I drew my sword, its adamantine blade shining in the full moon light. In the thin air at 26 000 feets' height the moonlight felt even clearer, and the stars were oddly still, not twinkling. I had never been so high up before. There was no chance to admire the view though, Gaia came at me with her own blade, adamantine too, and I know that it could cut through regular shielding if its dense atomic structure was combined with the spiritual force of the element. And Gaia knew it too, I could tell by the pattern of her thoughts.

I couldn't use an Aegis, concentrate on fighting and keep my oxygen at the same time. I knew it was possible, but I was not trained in these things. For some reason Gaia seemed unbothered by the low oxygen level. This gave her an upper hand. But I soon realised that she was far from a skilled fencer, and fighting in the air was simply not her thing. She might have been good at the ground, but soon she was retreating, driven back by my skill, speed and the strength I put behind the swings. Two times I managed to wound the enemy. I send a thank to Hera for pushing us so hard back in the training days.

Then I felt the arriving presence of dad, Ares and Helios. The next second Gaia felt them too, and her eyes widened. She turned and fled once again.  
- Repeating ourselves, I could not help screaming at her, even if I knew I was wasting oxygen. But I should've guessed. Typhon was a runaway coward too. Like son like mother!  
Gaia swayed, no doubt my words had hit her harder than my blade. She dived with me after. She was fast, using gravity for speed, rounded a mountain. When I followed I first thought I'd lost her. Then I felt her behind me the second before she attacked. I used the Aegis this time and her blade hit the super-shielding with a crackling sound and small sparks.

I span around but before I could get her she dived again, and disappeared into another cave. Soon I was chasing her through a down sloping tunnel. I was faster, but Gaia had the advantage of knowing the way, so she was manoeuvring smoothly in the narrow passages while I hit the stone wall several times, loosing speed and focus.

0O0O0

We ended up in a big dungeon, standing on an edge facing each other once again in an eerie light coming from Faith knows where. Silence. Only the dripping of liquid from the stalcatites could be heard. Then Gaia spoke again.  
- I hope you have said farewell to sunlight, because you'll never see it again. This is the Cave of Unborn Spirits. Your powerful shield won't work in here. And it's too narrow for you to do your air stunts. Now it's only woman against woman, blade against blade. You might be good, but I'm far more experienced.  
- Don't count on it, I replied.  
- Yes I do. By 5000 years at least. And your kins won't get the time to find you here, so I hope you have said farewell to them too.

I held my blade in front of me, legs spread an planted firmly to the ground.  
- I still think you talk too much. Why didn't you become a chronicler instead? They get paid by words you know.

Soon we were crossing blades again. And Gaia's 5000 years were not really that impressing when push came to show. I was forcing her to retreat. But suddenly she lashed out at me with blue fire again, taking me completely by surprise. Hot spiritual energy travelled up my blade and made me drop it. My enemy's laughter filled the narrow cave with a terrible sound.  
- Now you're loosing it, daughter of Zeus! Say goodbye to your sad and short life!

Gaia swung her blade at me, but I skipped left and aimed a kick at her joints so she lost some of her balance. I somersaulted backwards and threw a thunderbolt at the fragile ground beneath us. The stone gave way, and a big heap tumbled down in the ravine. This time Gaia lost footing completely, and struggled to find focus to levitate, the same time loosing shield-control. The strong and weird forces in here were apparently affecting her in a bad way too.

I took aim and hit her with the next bolt in solar plexus. Gaia tumbled over and fell down in the ravine. I blasted again, caused a heart failure and then I hit her brain, disturbing her shielding reflexes. I didn't get anymore chances, but these bolts proved to be more than enough, Gaia went unconscious and couldn't shield when she hit the ground at the bottom of the ravine. Then all went silent. I flew down, brought up a blasmaball and found my enemy paled on a stalagmite. No energy signature remained. She was finally dead. I threw back my head and let out a war-cry, a victory-cry. Both vocally and on the mind level. And after a second or two I got an answer: _Titidarl' where are you?_ Dad.

_Not really sure_, I called back. _There are so many conflicting energies here I have hard to trace the Earth lines or the magnetism. Can you find me? Gaia's dead. _Dad told me to stay where I was and after a while he, Ares and Helios arrived. They got to see the dead Gaia with their own eyes.  
- It's finally over, Dad said. The past is gone. Roll on future! He hugged me and then Helios came and did the same thing. But something was different with the way the latter held on to me. A strange feeling... Not like the usual pal-to-pal thing, but...

When Helios let go of me I smiled:  
- What took you so long, gentlemen?  
- Harpies, Ares told. Gaia kept some of these mutated birds in her lair, and they attecked us when we tried to follow the two of you. They are really no match for trained immortals, but they slowed us down.  
- Yeah, I remember them from the wars. Always providing with annoying interludes.

Dad interrupted:  
- We're not done here yet. We need to check through Gaia's lair. Make sure she hasn't got another Typhon in store.  
- Where are the others?  
- Artemis lost her breath and lost balance in the avalanche and was buried beneath all this snow. Hestia dug her out and took her home. Hercules went looking for Gaia's lair, and he's found it.  
- Then let's go there, I suggested. This place sucks!  
- What about Gaia? Helios asked.  
- What about her? dad shrugged.  
- Shouldn't we take the body... For research or something.

- If you want that go ahead, dad said. Personally I'm sick and tired of Giants now. With her gone - the very last - the only need for analysing her further would be to still our curiosity.  
- Good enough reason for me, I said. You taking her, Helios?  
- I knew you'd say that, Titi, dad smiled at me.

O0O00

We met Hercules in the cave of Gaia. He was sitting on a hard, weird-looking iron chair.  
- I've been through it. There's enough gold here to make Secretary of Treassure Maera wet herself. I'm taking it together with some other stuff that might be useful or at least interesting. Weren't really that much. Ugly furnitures - seems this weird lady slept on a bed of iron. Food. Soap by a waterfall. A lot of litter, like bones from the creatures she caught and ate, things looking like aquariums with some green gore in. Probably where she kept her experiments. There was a huge one that might've held Typhon. And for some reason shattered glass all over the place.

- Fine, dad said. I can't find anything here of interest. I'm mindcalling home. What you say about Dionysos bringing up some good wine and arranging a small celebration?  
- Great! we all said in a choir.  
- Hope Mimi'll be all right too, I added.  
- She's fine now, dad told. Pouting for missing the finale, that's true, but otherwise fine.

- Hush! I held up my hand. I'm hearing something. The others quieted and I listened again. It was hardly audible - a soft moaning.  
- I hear it too, said Hercules. A dog?  
- Wait, I'm going to check this out. I went in the direction of the sound - and behind a locked door I found its source. A human child! A mortal baby boy! Left here for what purpose? If I hadn't heard the little one he would have died sooner or later, being abandoned in this place. I lifted him from his crib and went back out to the men.

- Athena, what have you found? dad asked. Another experiment of Gaia?  
- No it's a normal human boy. Hardly a year old.  
- And you want to take him home? Ares scorned.  
- I'm certainly not leaving him here, I snapped.  
- So so so, Athi, I meant no harm. Just that you're so... girlish sometimes, sister.

- Well, I happen to be a girl, so that shouldn't surprise a smarter person.  
- Stop it, Zeus said. Where did you find the kid? I told him and he said:  
- There might be more. Let's focus for life before we leave.

We did but there were no more children hidden away in Gaia's caves. So we returned to Olympos, where my foundling did attract a lot of interest.  
- Where did you find him? Demeter wanted to know. With Gaia? Are you sure it's safe to let him live?  
- He's just an ordinary mortal, I assured my aunt.  
- He looks like Hephaistos, Eleithya was saying.  
- You're right about him not being the most beautiful child in the world, but I believe he needs a decent chance in life anyhow.

I named the baby Eric Thonius and had one of my priestesses in Athens adopting him, and eventually this ugly child grew up to be a rather handsome young man who became Mayor of Athens. But I never learned if he was a child of Gaia - created as another experiment by the tragic old female - or just a poor mortal child she had kidnapped for some reason.


	28. A broken heart

**A ****broken heart  
****(And a gossip interlude)**

- Please Athena, don't cry! These things happens. I met Vali. We fell in love. We want a life together. And you and I were always... anyway... just more like... like... friends.  
- Do I mean so little to you, Chrysandros?  
- No, you mean a lot to me, Athi! Since I learned to know you back in the 210:s you've been one of my best friends. One I can talk about everything with. And have fun with without having to worry about... well, a lot of things that can go wrong when a man and a woman are friends.

- But apparently... It has gone wrong between you and me. Or else...  
- No it has not. But Vali...  
- Don't ever mention that bitch again! Now get out of here! Out of my life!

After Chrysandros had left I cried and cried and cried. Too late had I understood that I was in love with Chrysandros of Arvandessar. And now I was heartbroken, engulfed in blackness in a way I never really had understood until now. Earlier I had almost scorned these women who went so crazy in love and then lost and cried and behaved all reckless. I had thought they over-reacted, but now I knew what a heartache felt like.

Oddly enough Nike's brother Nardalon was also heartbroken. Over Clyanassa, who apparently dumped him for Melisseus of Plenitaa. So we found comfort in each others arms, and I felt like Aphrodite. Then I felt stupid and sick of myself. This wasn't the way to handle broken hearts. It was only embarrassing. But when I tried to tell that to Nardalon he just put his finger to my lips and said:

- Hush, sweet Athi! What's wrong with two people comforting each other? We both feel like doing this, we're both benefiting from it. And it's not like it's the first time in the universe two people are comforting each other with sex. Besides, you and I have been buddy-playing for so long now that one extra time shouldn't do any harm.  
- But do you think - I'll always be such a failure in love?  
-No idea. If I knew, I'd make money out of that knowledge, like Aphrodite does. But I'm as lost as you are, Athi.

- Two lost souls in a big bed beneath the stars! I guess our talents are to be found in other areas.  
- So do I, Athi. But you're a great kisser anyway. If you ever fall in love for real, that man will be lucky to have you kissing him all the time.  
- I hope you're not expecting...  
- Too early to say. Clyanassa is still plastered all over my brain.

The next morning Nardy and I were sitting opposite of each other eating breakfast, and I asked:  
- Please, can we keep this night to ourselves? If someone finds out I went directly from Chrysandros...  
- I know what you mean, Nardy said and poured more coffee. I feel the same about my post-Clyanassa blues.

I laughed at Nardalon's expression. He smiled back and said:  
- You still don't drink coffee?  
- No. Not my thing. I prefer the sweetness of cocoa. I'm going home to Olympos tonight. Now with the new nuclear plant up and running and the election over I don't need to stick around. Want to see my family and not to be reminded of Chrys every corner I turn.  
- That's probably a good idea. Guess I should do the same. Go away from Athens, I mean. Take a vacation.

O0O0O

Back at Olympos I stumbled right from my own love trouble into Aphrodite's. Iris was lecturing Astraios' daughter:  
- Come on, Aphrodite! You're 275 years old and you behave like you're sixteen! You're supposed to be Hephaistos' wife, I'm only surprised that he hasn't tired of you by now! Let Persephone have Adonis!  
- Why? Aphrodite scorned. I thought she was content with those dead guys of hers.

I passed by them and went up to Hebe in the bar:  
- Hello Smilie! Now what's that all about? My sister poured me a glass of Sparklewine and shook her head:  
- Some YUGI. Can't keep track of them all. But apparently this boy gained the attention of Peri and she had a good time with him. Until Aphrie stepped into the picture and managed to lure Adonis away from Peri.

- Not the first time she's been taking boys from Peri, said Ersa on my right hand. Last year it was Egrimanar. Poseidon and Neyta of Kergandar's son. You weren't at home, Athi, you missed all the fun. But I guess we're in for a rerun starting off tonight.  
- Oh Faith! I sighed. So who won Egrimanar in the end?  
- No one, Hebe told. I mean, he ended up in the arms of Doradala. And he's still there. As far as I know, at least. So how's Sakura and Irdo?  
- Oh, they're fine. Kuri said she doesn't miss antics like this the slightest, by the way.

- Talking 'bout "antics like this", Eleithya said behind me, Dionysos is in love. She sat down a seat away from me and then helped her daughter Chrysone up on the stool between us.  
- Again? Hebe said and poured a strawberry soda to Chrysone before starting to mix Thya's Red Lion.  
- Yeah, but it's for real this time.  
- More real than with Aura or Xena or Freya or Circe or Pancleia or Nikaia or Eumonia or Akiko or Europa or Brünhilde or Mira or whoever it was the week before? Hebe shook her head.

- Apparently affirmative, Thya said and toasted with me. Name's Ariadne. Surpriceling.  
- Mama, why are you using so many strange words? Chrysone asked.  
- Because I'm with Athena, and if you want to appear serious in her company you have to use strange words.

I made a face at Thya and Ersa told her to cut the yadayada and tell about Dionysos' new beloved instead. Thya smiled and adopted a narrating voice:  
- She hung with this mortal Theseus something who gave her a lift from Crete in exchange for some horizontal entertanment. He found out that she was a goddess and got all shit-scared and dumped her on the island Naxos. Took his yact and sailed off. And there Dion met her when she was crying her eyes out sitting in a bar. And Dion reckoned a crying girl an easy game , put on the big charm and started to flirt away. Little did he know that _he_ was to become the game instead. Lil' brother fell in love, and tomorrow he's coming up home with Ariadne.

- So who is she, this Ariadne? Ersa wanted to know.  
- I don't know more than that she's a surpriceling, and that she's from Crete. Knossos apparently, Eleithya said. Working for Daedalus Industries.  
- And you think she's Dion's "Hera"? Ersa asked.  
- What do you mean, Hera? Eleithya sounded slightly irritated, no doubt ready to defend her mother against some yet to be uttered accusation.

- Oh, nothing, Ersa said. Just that dad used to be just the kind of playboy Dionysos is today until your mother came around and he fell in love for real.  
- He's still a playboy, I commented.  
- I know, Athi, Ersa giggled. I'm after all a living proof.  
- Yes, I said, but as a matter of fact, dad and Hera were "off" when he and Eos got you, Ersa.  
- Who cares? I got the chanse to be around, and that's really all that matters to me.

- Anyhow, Dionysos is not the only one having caught a surpriceling lately, Eleithya gossiped further. Selene has hooked up with that redheaded hunk Endymion.  
- Oh, mr sleepyhead, I giggled. Caeros told me he always falls asleep in the Weather and Environment Council's meetings.  
- Poor Caeros, Hebe said. Save for Neyta there seems to be just a bunch of lotus-eaters manning that board.  
- Environmentalists, Ersa snorted. A bit over the top in my opinion. Seems like a lot of them wouldn't get real even if their immortal lives depended on it. That Wotan for instance, someone must've dropped him head first when he was a babe.

- Talking about surpricelings, I want to ask you something, sisters. That was Pandia who had been sitting silent reading the paper on the short end of the bar while we were talking.  
- Go ahead! Hebe smiled.  
- What's theogenesis?  
- Creation of gods, Hebe told. Why?

- Something I overheard Dad discussing. He said something about that there 's not enough deities around. And about some scheme to get more surpricelings with fresh genes or something like that. He called it theogenesis.  
- Oh that, I said. An old idea that pops up now and then, when immortals feel overworked, are scared of inbreeding or just want new faces around. It's about tracing down mortals carrying immortal genes and having them to breed, hoping that they should give birth to surpriceling immortals like Orion, Europa and Ganymedes.

- Oh, Ganymedes, Ersa rolled her eyes. He's such a poof! Imagine an armada of him around.  
- Yeah! Hebe giggled. And then she did some stunts with the drink shaker, imitating Ganymedes' voice, Troy accent, choise of expressions and over the top gracious movements right on spot, and had us all laughing.

- But seriously, girls, Eleithya said. Isn't it better to convince all these YUGI's into taking their responsibilities as gods and goddesses instead. Then I believe there would be enough gods, at least here in 'Tanni.  
- So you're going to deificate the downtown YUGI:s, Thya? I asked. Good luck then!  
- Better doing that then messing with some mortals poor lives, Eleithya said.

- Thya, their lives are short and insignificant, I said. And most of the times they seem rather boring too. For a mortal couple to rise an immortal would be more of a honour I guess.  
- That's the minor problem, Athi, Eleithya reasoned. First you have to find a matching couple carrying the right genes. Then you'll have to have them breeding. And it's only one out of four chances to get that little deity, so they will probably have to keep on trying. And what if they hate each other?

- Guess Aphrodite or someone can take care of that, I pointed out. Is that what you were reading about, Pandia? Theogenesis?  
- No, I was reading what Apollon wrote about this Marsyas guy and his concert the other day. Have you seen it? It's really funny!

- Funny? Eleithya said. I thought it was arrogant and cruel. I mean, Ollie was literally flogging the poor dude alive.  
- Oh, come on! I said. That pipe-playing YUGI! He is terrible. If someone needs to be taken down a peg, he is the one.  
- But Marsyas' career isn't the first one Apollon has wrecked with his poisonous arrows! Eleithya insisted.  
- Ah, he'll manage, Hebe said. He has his fan base, he'll do all right, even if he won't become a megastar. Which he wouldn't have anyway, because he sucks. And if Ollie hadn't said that, someone else would. So that's what's going on in the Immortal Daily. What's the Divine News got to say?

- Nothing about Marsyas, Pandia picked up the compeating paper and opened up a page. But Poison-pen Perseus is back from his paternal leave. And he just killed Medusa.  
- Medusa? I rose my brows.  
- Yeah Medusa, when she stopped being a politician she vent into art. As a sculpturist. Making statues of people and doing really good, it has been said. But Perseus called her art "a waste of marble on old worn out clichés, and not even entertaining on a desolate island".

I laughed. My half-brother Perseus was still his good old bad self. I don't know how many people, gods and mortals alike he had butchered since he started his career in journalism some 80 years ago.  
- If looks could kill Perseus would be stone himself now I bet, Hebe smiled after skimming trough the Daily article.  
- Yeah Apollo sounds like a nice old grandpa compared to Perseus, Pandia replied.

- Talking 'bout Ollie? Hermes jumped up on the chair Chrysone had vacated after finishing her soda and realizing we grown-ups were too boring for her.  
- Yeah, Ersa said.  
- Ollie's taking over Paladin's seat!  
- What? As a leader of the Sun Guild Party? Eleithya exclaimed.

- Apollon going politician, Hebe went on. Who could've believe that?  
- It's because of this Author's Rights thing, I explained. Ollie told me about it a few years ago. About musicians and artist's exclusive rights to their work, and their right to make money when for instance a piece of music is being played. Ollie, being a musician, has engaged in that question, and that made him enter politics.

- Yeah, Eleithya said. But who could have guessed that Ollie was going to become a party head.  
- I did, Hermes said. After being in this business for a century and a half I can read those little events. And Mimi and I were taking bets on if Ollie were finally going into politics or not. So now our sister owns me some money.

- But Mimi! She's been in politics longer than you have, I pointed out. How could she miss her twin brother's inclinations in that area?  
- She's been doing other things lately. Busy with this wildlife prevention project that... well you know. Anyhow, I met Aphrodite on my way here. She looked like she was out to kill, said something about ripping out Iris' tongue and stick it up her butt where it, according to Aphrie, belonged! Now what was all that about?

Ersa fed him the Persephone/Adonis story.  
- Nothing unusual in other words, became Hermes' comment.


	29. A ruined party

_Okay, it has been a while and I'm sorry for my abscense. But life has to take its time sometimes. Well, Athena is still alive and kicking and the story is moving on slowly into a rather different rendering of the Trojan war. Including Eris, who doesn't need an apple to start a fight. And a new beloved of Athena. _

**

* * *

A ruined party**

Believe it or not, I was soon going to be even more irritated with Aphrodite. Not to mention surprised by how tiny a snowball it takes to set off an avalanche of events that almost came to threaten the very existence of the Union. Now, this was nothing like attacking Giants or other external threats. This was all happening inside our borders. It involved mortals as well as immortals, and demanded more brain and less strength.

It all begun at the wedding of Thetis, former of Itacha, and Peleus, a nephew of mine (son of Aiacos, dads son with Aegina). Or - to be honest - it was the sequel to some political skirmishes that went back more than 150 years. Actually nothing but minor disagreements among certain groupings. The rest hadn't bothered, until this party where a critical mass of political antagonists were put together. First I couldn't care less what the fuzz was all about. Eris of Earaxxes, she was a known trouble-maker. It wasn't my business if she crashed a party she wasn't invited to. I was enjoying myself, dancing upside-down with Kandrios of Elesios. But suddenly the music stopped. Like what the...

- Now listen to me! Eurytion of Vandiodora had entered the stage flanked by Eris, and taken the microphone from the singing Calliope. We have a situation with millions of mortals being endangered by criminal warfare. And this is not just street violence I am talking about. In Sparta...  
- Gimme that! Calliope said and tried to take the mike back, but Eurytion held it out of her reach.  
- Shut up and listen! Eurytion said once more. These Argivian Clans have been...  
- For Chaos' sake, your Libertarian hotbrain, get down from there! Antalu of Mycenae thundered. People all over started to rise their voices. Even mortals expressed their irritation.

- No, I am not, because...  
- Give me the mike, Titan! Calliope insisted.  
- Deities of Ekarantanni, you must believe me when I say that this is a serious situation. You must listen to me. I have approached Olympos on his. The beautiful Hera of Olympos as well as the likewise beautiful Athena... The rest he said was cut off when someone apparently pulled the plug to the sound system.

- Now what is this all about? I asked Kandrios. Hera? And me?  
- No clue, the Elesian delegate said and crossed his arms. Then he let up his voice, shouting louder than the general hubbub and adding charisma:  
- Eurytion, what is this crap? A beauty-contest? he scorned the god on the stage.  
- No! You should know better than that, Elesian! It's about the Central Continent Clan Wars which has expanded themselves now to engulf several regions. It's about control over large industries, railways, airports and highways as well as illegal gambling, prostitution and illegal substance dealing. And the Police is doing nothing because they are corrupt and bribed. Or afraid.

- We're trying to have a party here, someone shouted.  
- What has this to do with me? I let up my voice. Or Hera?  
- Beautiful Athena, Eurytion tried to answer, You and Hera have been denying that this is a problem. That there are no such thing as the Clan Wars. Then you haven't been in the streets of Sparta!  
- Cut the crap! Antalu again. You and Eris can do this in the Nexus, not here.

- But we want answers from Hera and Athena, Eurytion shouted back.  
- All right, Hera took a leap up on the stage, and managed to get all attention in a way she must have learned from dad. Eurytion, Eris, are you mistaking this event for an Open Forum? I have never denied that the Clan Wars is a problem. But I don't want to drive warrior's vehicles into the streets of Sparta, that's the difference between you and me, Eurytion. It is not Titans or Giants we are dealing with, it's mortal organised crime. And unfortunately I'm afraid that there are some immortals involved too.

- Now what kind of accusation is that? Azeodaran of Ilion shouted.  
- None, Hera answered. Not yet. It's only a suspicion. Azeodaran, you could always...  
- Don't drag Azeodaran into this, Hera! Aphrodite was standing next to the Troyan god glaring at Hera.  
- Come on, Aphrie! I shouted back. He dragged himself in, not Hera!  
- No one needs to drag Azeodaran anywhere, Pasithea let up her voice. He's good enough at doing that himself!  
- Who asked for your opinion, left-winger? Aphrodite spat at Pasithea.

The next moment everybody were screaming accusations in every direction. Except for Eris, who was just standing at the stage, arms crossed and doing nothing but smiling scornfully. On the other side of the room Aphrodite were screaming something at Azeodaran, who then leaped over the crowd with the stage in mind. I thought he was going to jump on Hera so I excused myself to Kandrios and headed off in that same direction.

Azeodaran and I reached the stage at the same time, but instead of attacking Hera Azeodaran jumped up and punched Eurytion in the face. Eurytion punched back, Kandrios arrived behind me and tried to separate the men, only to receive a punch himself. Eurytiar of Senartheda was greeted with the same treatment. He fell off the stage, landing right at a waiter and wine was spilled all over. Dike, who got wine all over her dress, was screaming some curses before involving herself in the fight too. I looked at Hera, mindspeaking a _?_. She looked back and shrugged. _They are deep down in this manure. Let them trample around there on their own_!

I took Hera's arm and we retreated out in a hallway.  
- Chaos and it's daughters, now what was all this about? I asked Hera.  
- A nightmare of an ugly business. This organised crime thing has been a cancer in the body of the Union for decades and decades. It eats away healthy parts of our society, having gods like Cheiron of Xanetakar working their butts off, only to see their work ruined by greedy-minded mortal trash. And it doesn't seem to be a remedy for it, very much because immortals are involved as well as reckless mortals.

- Immortals? I asked. But who?  
- We don't know yet. Although I have my suspicions.  
- Like?  
- Like mine and Hercules' bad old friend Naktraon of Tannishar and his crooked son Ranadian.

We sat down in one of those designer sofas which really are a miracle of uncomfort and Hera explained how these Clans had come to be - to defend people in certain areas - and how they had found out that there was big money to be made in controlling crime. And how even immortals were paid to look the other way. The main problem was that the Nexus hadn't really bothered as long as these Clans had stuck to themselves and killed exclusively members of other Clans.

- When they were starting to become a real menace to society it was too late. They were too spread to be able to finish off in a quick fix. And you know how everybody love a quick fix these days, Athi. A clean kill. They want all menaces to be like Typhon or Gaia. Zap them and get over with it. Unfortunately life is seldom that simple.  
- I know. Not even the Giant chase was simple. That superior-complex-ridden Dernigal of Plenitaa was even as hard to deal with as the Giants.

After a while dad came through a door, followed by Cleopatra and Hermes who obviously had gone get him.  
- Now what's this madness about? he asked us.  
- See for yourself, I snorted. Divine bar fight.

We followed dad inside the main hall, and he was soon taking command by rising both his voice and charisma at the same time, having all attention directed at his presence. He demanded to know what was going on - and got all kind of explanations from deities more or less marked by fight. The hall had taken beats too - broken furniture and shattered glass everywhere, frightened mortals huddling in a corner. Then dad pointed at Eurytion who was healing his broken nose, blood staining his tunic.

- You started this, Eurytion of Vandiodora, you do the talking!  
- Great Zeus, Eris of Earaxxes asked me to tell the gathering to start taking the Clan Wars serious. People are dying...  
- And where's Eris? Apparently she has left the building, leaving you with your neck bare. Did she really expect us to find a solution here? Now? At the wedding party of a former Hyperpantheon delegate? Or did she just want to make some fuzz as usual?

Eurytion went silent for a second, then he said:  
- But people are dying in the streets of Sparta and in Argos and Xanetakar and...  
- We're aware of it, Eurytion, dad stated. But we don't want to hear about it here if there's no one here to present a solution. Now we've got a situation where immortals are being accused of involving themselves in this kind of crime instead. And we don't need that!

- Great Zeus... Eurytion started over.  
- Shut up! Antalu of Mycenae cut him off. Great Zeus don't have time for your nonsense. Haven't you got that message squeezed into your diminutive brain yet?

- There is a solution, someone was suddenly saying. I turned. Aphrodite!  
- What? How? When? people could be heard from various corners.  
- There is one man who can solve this for us. A mortal. Paris Alexandros of Troy. You know about him, Zeus!  
- Yes, a nobleman. A lawyer. Can he really negotiate with these people?  
- He can. He has been doing negotiations before. He can solve the Spartan problem. Let's employ him! He can meet chief Menelaos, chief Agamemnon and all those other Clan Leaders.

- Nonsense! Why not rounding up these Clan leaders and lock them up? Donin was asking.  
- On what charges? Hera said.  
- On all these crimes that...  
- Problem is we have no proof, Hera pointed out. The police can get the minor pawns. The errand guys and the wet-workers. But they get replaced within 24 hours. It's the bigwigs we can't catch. We have nothing on them. They're clean. Sterile!

Now a lot of people were talking again. Others were leaving. Yet others were trying to restart the fight, like Phaeton who punched Azirakon on the nose, but they were soon separated by gods with cooler minds. And on a chair in the middle of the big room Thetis the bride was crying over her ruined party, Neyta of Kergandar and Freya of Vanaheim failing to comfort her.

O0O0O

My sister Britomartis works with researches about how new laws affect society and she lives on a boat anchored outside Ekarantanni during the political year. The months between she anchors up and goes away somewhere on a whim. She's not the kind of person you notice right away, she sort of grows into focus, but when she's there she stays. That's because she's clever and fun in a low-keyed way and has a generous heart. During the years we spent looking for Echidna I also learned that she was very reliable.

Once I asked her why she hadn't become Olympian in spite of being Zeus's daughter. She had sighed and shrugged.  
- Because I want to be... Just me. Just Bibi. The sailor girl, the law researcher. The average little goddess who get renowned for doing her thing. Being an Olympian to me seems so much about - being an Olympian first and foremost. And grouped together with all the other Olympians and the power centre and all that. I want to be the independent voice instead. No disrespect, Athena, but that's how I feel.  
- None taken. We're all different. We want different things in life. I don't care about the power games either. For me Olympos is simply home.

As all immortal children of Zeus, Bibi has a more or less standing invitation up home. But she's seldom seen around. Sometimes, instead, I take the chance to visit her at her boat. This night became one of those.

We had left Thetis' and Peleus' party rather soon after dads arrival, and Kandrios and I had followed a little group out to Britomatis' boat, the Glassfish. The heat of the day had given way for a balmy night, and Bibi was pouring drinks to us on the deck of the Glassfish. I sat down between Kandrios and Aeolus, accepting a glass of wine.

- Poor Thetis, Marpessa was saying. She had sat down opposite of me together with my non-olympian brother Arcas, Melia and her new husband Deinitar from Locris. Next to Melia sat Britomartis' mother Karme together with Argus of Argos.  
- Indeed, Melia said. It's not like you marry every year or even every decade. And when you do, you want to have a true party. And along comes that jerk Eurytion and ruins it all.  
- Don't forget Eris! She was behind it too, Arcas stated.

Others were arriving, like Hermes with Tanagra by his arm, Akiko, Pelasgos, Arelis the ancient god Ophion and his wife Eurynome, Aithlios, Enyo, Xanthus and Philotes. Then came Freya and Xenon's daugther Euranassa, who I hadn't seen in ages, and she was ripe with pregnancy.  
- What's this Clan crap about anyway? Akiko wanted to know.  
- Mortal stuff, Aithlios said. Organised crime. Protection. As long as they don't mess things up too bad, I don't think we should bother.

- In what way are you involved Athena? And Hera and Aphrodite? Marpessa asked.  
- I'm not involved at all, I said. Honestly, I was completely taken aback when Eurytion started to involve me.  
- Ah, he was just Olympifying, Kandrios told.  
- He was what?

- Olympifying, Kandrios repeated. Means rising the importance of a matter by dropping some names of Olympians. Trying to make it sound like they are connected to the matter. They don't have to be at all, you can just say "I've talked to Athena about...". Doesn't have to mean a thing at all.  
- Really!! I rose an eye-brow and Britomartis mindspoke me: _See why I don't want to be Olympian_.

- Can we talk about something else? Tanagra asked.  
- Yeah, we all know you're going to Olympify your night anyhow, Akiko giggled and nodded at Hermes.  
- Look who's talking, Tanagra answered back, Zeus's latest babe!  
- Now, who's saying such a thing? Akiko wanted to know.  
- I don't remember who said it first, but I keep hearing it everywhere, Tanagra said.

- I've heard it too, Marpessa said. I've also had Zeus, ages ago, so I can only say "welcome to the club", Akiko. On behalf of Eurynome, Karme, Freya, Melia and myself.  
- Now come on, Pessa! Melia said. I've had Apollon and Auroanos, that's no secret. But not Zeus.  
- This is embarrassing, Britomartis pouted. Stop going about dad, or I'll have you all walking the gang plank!  
- That sounds like fun, Melia giggled.  
- Yeah! Can I join? Arelis asked.

I noted that Euranassa was blushing timidly and holding on to her round belly. Had she too…

- Olympify? I asked Kandrios later that night. We had sneaked away for some private partying below deck, while the others were still drinking above, or swimming around the boat.  
- Yeah... he was blushing. (It didn't matter that it was dark, his aura gave him away.) I didn't invent that word. It's an old political term. You must understand... You guys up on that mountain are in a way - symbols. Symbols of the Power of the Union.

- I guess you're right, Kan.  
- And it's more than just words. There's a lot of people in the Hyp, as well as outside, who are climbing these mountain walls. Metaphorically speaking that is. Trying to become, or at least look like, extensions of the Olympos. Wannabes we're calling those people. You know, I had a short affair with Hera before she got together with Zeus.

- Yes, she told me when you and I started dating.  
- She was spending a lot of time with Zeus during our last months together. I thought she was a wannabe and I was jealous and uncomfortable. Felt rejected. I had no idea that she had been in love with Zeus all the time.  
- How did that felt then? To find out?

- Oddly enough it felt much better. It was nothing wrong with me. Hera was not rejecting me because I lacked power...  
- Kan, you don't lack power! You're a Hyp delegate for Faiths sake. One of the few who have been in it from the start.  
- Compared to your father I do. But it wasn't the power Hera wanted. It was the man she had been in love with for years and years. And she had been hiding behind me, because she was afraid to admit that to herself.

- She told you that?  
- Yes. Years later. When we had buried that sour thing between us. I guess that's the best thing with being immortal. You get the chance to forgive and forget. Given enough years you can reach out your hand and touch it with someone you haven't been that well off with for a long time. I did it with Hera. I did it with my brother Kerenios, who I had been in conflict with since our late teens.  
- That sounds comforting, I said. I mumbled the word "Olympify" to myself and laughed a bit. Then we went on doing other things.

I left Kan sleeping and started up the stairs to the deck, when I heard someone familiar crying in the cabin. Enyo. What? I opened the door slowly and peeped in. Britomartis was sitting with the crying goddess in her arms.  
- Am I... welcome? I asked. Britomartis nodded.  
- What's...  
- Cursed brothers of ours.

- Who? Ares?  
- And Hermes.  
- Hermes? Has he and Enyo...?

- No, Enyo said and looked at me, awkwardly drying her tears with the back of her hand, smearing around make-up in that dollish cute face of hers. That mudhead Ares! He arrived... later. When most people had left. Was drunk, didn't see me. Started to fuzz with Hermes about... about... about... Tanagra! What has she got that I haven't? Ares was... was...

Enyo said something more that I couldn't make out because she started sobbing instead, and Britomartis took over:  
- Ares and Hermes started to fight over Tanagra, because Ares wanted her to follow him. Claimed that he and Tanagra had had something going and that Hermes had taken her from him. Aeolus, Arelis, Philotes and Pelasgos had to separate them, or they had broken things aboard. And probably each other too. And Arelis became pushed in the water by Ares.

- Gee... Has Ares been with Tanagra before she hooked up with Hermes?  
- What do I know? What do I care? Apparently she's just like that slut Akakallis who had both Hermes and Apollon the same night a few weeks ago. Anyway - then Ares spotted poor Enyo and was like "what you looking at?". Like she was just someone he'd conquered and dumped. Next moment Hermes and Tanagra leave and Ares rages around a bit before taking off too.

- Enyo, I said. This is a lousy comfort, but It'll feel better in a year or so. Chrysandros dumped me this New Years Month. And I'm almost over him.  
- I... Enyo said. I should've guessed, since I haven't seen him around you for ages. Anyway - it's not that easy for me. Ares is after all Enyalos' father. Yaly keeps reminding me of him all the time. Worst of all - Ares and I never really broke up. He just stopped being around.

- Where's Kandrios by the way? Britomartis asked.  
- Asleep. In your guest room. Guess I wore him out. Even Enyo smiled when I said that.


	30. Trouble in Troy

_The battle over Troy is starting for real. Note that this is my own, quite different interpretation with a lot of liberties taken against the "original". _

**

* * *

**

**Trouble in Troy**

A few weeks later Aphrodite had employed this Paris character, a cocky mortal in his early 30:ies, and sent him off to try to negotiate with the Clan heads. The Clan leaders agreed upon meeting on neutral ground in Sparta - to be more exact in the major temple of Aphrodite. First everything seemed to run smoothly, the hot shots were meeting and talking, but then suddenly something went wrong. Really wrong.

One early morning Paris and his co-workers left the temple in a hurry. And with them went a group led by Helena of the Panther Clan. Lord Menelaos' wife. This event became an insult to the whole Spartan Clan community, and with their odd idea of honour they felt that they were loosing their faces when one of theirs was defecting - and with the neutral negotiator of all people. Before we knew it Spartan Clan people were enlisting allies all over the continent and suddenly the city of Troy was held hostage by several thousands of these so-called Argives who demanded that Helena and the rest of the runaways should be handed over.

But this Helena, this fire starter, was said to have sought refuge in Troy. She and Paris were hiding somewhere in what was said to be "A safe place" and protected by "hired guns". Both Helena and Paris as well as the other persons hiding with them refused to talk to anyone from the outside world except for through "special spokepersons". Then the only thing they were asking for was to be left alone by the Spartans as well as by other Clan people.

So why didn't we immortals just stop this and sent the Argives back to where they belonged? Simply because it wasn't that easy. Firstly we didn't know if it really was a kidnap situation as the Spartans were claiming or a question of a defector fleeing from internal Spartan aggressions. One group of deities was certain that Helena had been kidnapped to provoke the Spartans while another group claimed that she was hiding in Troy and was terrified of being sent back to Sparta.

Rumours had it that Helena and her followers were facing a certain death if they even dared to stick their noses outside the guarded city perimeter of Troy. The truth in this case was hidden beneath layers and layers of lies and I am not sure we will ever find it. No matter how much I tried to stay out of this I suddenly found myself deeply involved, because among these Argives were some of "my" people. Mighty as well as faithful mortals, like Auraora Tilinethe and her followers Achilles Peli, Nerikki Oreishardnu, Loki Okura and Lycodamas Desamaratheni. Good people, all of them believing they were doing the right thing.

From Achilles I got yet another angle of the story. It was actually Paris who was the real criminal in this tale. He and his minions were trying to break an old mortal power network that spread all over the world.  
- It's not about criminals and crime at all, Achilles explained. It's about security. The Clans are helping their own. With finances, insurance, protection, negotiations, justice - you name it. They step in when the police and the society fail. Or when you don't want to involve society. They are our protectors. Auraora's Tilinethe Clan has been protecting our area and our families for centuries. We rely on them. And now Paris wants to break this system to pieces.

- Why? I asked.  
- Who knows. Achilles shrugged where he was standing in the peach light of the setting sun outside his trailer on the dusty plain outside the Troy perimeter. He was handsome for being a mortal, still without signs of aging, and he looked smart and healthy. Almost interesting. I halted this train of thoughts - who was I - Aphrodite? No, I was not going to run after mortal men. Instead I continued my discussion with Achilles.

- Paris is a lawyer, I told. He's from a family of mortal politicians. Maybe he wants society to take care of these things, instead of private corps.  
- Society? Achilles spat. Call things what they are! He and his people want to move over power to themselves. They want to centralise the mortal society. And I don't believe in such a centralism. I don't want to be protected by an anonymous society machine. I want to be protected by the Tilinethe. Help us, Great Athena! Help us keeping the society we want!

O0O0O

Intrigued by Achilles' words I decided to seek more information about this angle of the Clan question. I had believed in Hera when she referred to these Clans as mere criminal organisations, but according to Achilles it was not that simple. It became Leto who gave me the answers I wanted.  
- Strange that you should be the one asking me this, Athena, Leto said. I have been trying to tell my daughter about the Clans for decades, but she simply don't listen. She rather listen to her father in political matters. But contrary to what everybody thinks, Zeus doesn't know it all.  
- I know. Simply because he's got no time. No-one has that amount of time!

- You're right. Let's start from the beginning. With the Titan war that ended 312 years ago. Or - rather - when it began. That's like 375 years ago. And I was only a little girl. Same age as Chrysone, so I hardly remember what the world was like. But back then there were thousands and thousands of immortals. Almost every family had its protector or protectress, usually an old surpriceling. These gods went by the name of _Ancestors_. Every town, every railway station, every water tower, every fire brigade had its own little deity taking care of it and its personnel.

These deities were usually much weaker than the average deity of today. Hardly more than age-less mortals with healing- and mind-speaking power. You could actually regard them as a combination of janitors and mediators between the mortals and the powerful Aristocratic Gods, like the Peleneri, the Santori, the Thanaderia, the Warinikia, the Ayonia et cetera. They lived on what little sacrifices they received from their mortals and by running errands for the Aristocrats.

When the Titans decided to destroy the immortal Homo Sapiens population, these little immortals became the first victims. The Aristocratic houses lasted a bit longer, and they started to fight back, and it's from them almost all of us descend. That's the reason why we are so much more powerful than the average pre-war god. A kind of "natural selection" so to speak.  
- Leto, I already know all this. What has this to do with the Clans?

- You're just like Mimi and Ollie. And like Zeus! Impatient. When these small deities were gone there were no-one to take care of the mortals. They had to take care of themselves when the immortals were busy staying alive. Thus the Clans were born. Caretakers, replacing the old gods.  
- Only that they were mortals.  
- Yes, but the difference wasn't really that big. The mortal caretakers passed on their trade to their offspring. They formed alliances resembling the old Grand Pantheons, allied themselves with immortal guerrillas and fought Titans. And when the war was over their organisations remained, simply because there weren't enough immortals around to help all the mortals out there.

When I talked to Hera she agreed partly with Leto, but she was still more interested in rooting out the criminal part.  
- We almost had a chance of doing that, Hera said. By getting these Clans to co-work instead of shooting at each other. But then Aphrodite blew it all!  
- It was hardly her fault that Paris did...  
- Yes it was. He fell in love with Helena and Aphrodite promised that he was going to get her if he helped her. And Helena wanted to get away from Menelaos. That was what happened. Not a hostage situation or some romantic refugee tale.

- And now there's a big real-life square-board game going on outside Troy, I stated.  
- Right, Hera said. Help me win it and these Clans will be faithfully ours. Then we can saw off the criminal branch and actually turn these organisations into mortals working for us.  
- Is that your plan? I asked Hera.  
- Yeah! Are you in or are you out?  
- I'm in. But what does dad...

- He doesn't know yet. This is going to be my triumph. He has all the immortals dancing his dances. Now if I - if you and I can have thousands and thousands of mortals dancing for us we will get listened to. Not only by Zeus but by the whole Hyperpantheon as well.  
- OK, I'm thrilled. Let get this party rocking! Let's get Helena out of Troy!

O0O0O

In a square-board game you can't just go ahead and create havoc. You have to play smart. Try to think several draws ahead of the opponent. And the opponent in this case was Aphrodite and her mortals. She enlisted Ares, Apollon and Artemis to help her. Artemis bought the "society shall take care of things" – talk and Ares was just intrigued by the possibility of some good fighting. And Apollon was worried about the city of Troy. On the opposite site were me and Hera together with Poseidon and Hephaistos.

Our square-board game started with negotiations. Then more negotiations. We had minor clerks running errands in every direction and tried to get support from the major population. We collected old debts and we were scheming and plotting and lying until I was almost ashamed of myself. Then the fighting started for real. Some shooting at Troyans in cars, dead bystanders. A killed TV journalist. The Troyan goddess Electra had been trying with all her might to work for a peaceful solution, and now she was devastated, and changed her agenda totally. "Get the Argives" became a mantra inside Troy.

So the game became a full scale civil war. There was nothing to stop all kinds of people from trying to kill each other. The air was torn apart with the sound of machine guns, cars were driving around with gunners killing everything they saw and the air was filled with TV -helicopters from all over the word, circling around like vultures. Until someone inside Troy armed with a rocket gun, shoot a helicopter down, killing the crew. The rest of the helicopters took off like a flock of scared sparrows.

- And where was dad? Apollon asked. He said he was going to keep an eye on things, and then he just disappears at the critical moment! A handful of us were standing around an indoor-pond turned into sight-pool watching the events unfold down outside Troy.  
- He was busy bouncing Hera in the Golden Room, Dionysos answered.  
- And you were nosy of course, Eleithya stated.

- Not really. But one couldn't help hearing them. Dad was screaming aloud that Hera was better than Leto and Themis and Amaterasu and Freya and Astarte and Whatshername and Whatshername and Whatshername…  
- Oh, shut up! I told my little brother while Ersa and Cleopatra started to giggle. Like that was ever your business anyway.  
- Of course it was his business, he wouldn't 've been around if dad hadn't bounched "Whatshername" Apollon scorned.  
- Semele, Dionysos snapped. Her name was Semele.

O0O0O

Then the game was back in negotiation mode again. No one wanted more of the bad will that had been the result of the killed TV-crew. But when violence starts it's hard to stop. Some groups refused to lay down their arms. I farsighted Achilles and Auraora who were trying to convince Agamemnon and some of his people to restart the negotiations. Achilles said that he was sick of killing and wanted to go home, was called a coward and returned with a lot of derogatory words aimed at the Spartan before heading back to his trailer. And there he locked himself up while the madness went on in other places.

He had this girl who was some kind of captive, a Troyan noblewoman held hostage at his place. I almost lost my attention on the big scale events spying on the odd relation that was developing between Achilles and this Briseis. He stated that he wanted her, and she was too afraid to refuse him. And at the same oddly attracted by him. After their first night together I got and idea. One of my weirdest ideas ever.

I had found out something about Achilles and his allied Diomedes. These men were "demigods". They had at least one immortal parent. Achilles' mother was Thetis, the poor bride, and Diomedes' father was the Attic god Sedirios. They were going to age and die (or perhaps die here outside Troy), but they had the chance to give birth to an immortal child. A chance I was going to take.

I put Briseis to deep sleep and then I assumed her form and went into Achilles' trailer.  
- Oh, there you are, Briseis' host said. More obeiant today, are we? Since I didn't know what had happened between Achilles and Briseis yesterday I remained silent and only backed off slightly when he took my chin in his right hand. Then I let him have his way, and it was not until he had taken off my dress I could stop pretending and letting my body behave the way it wanted to.  
- Much better, much better, Achilles was mumbling, and I refrained from answering, what was there really to say.

When we both had got what we wanted I put Achilles to sleep and left the trailer. Invisible I walked through the camp and listened to the people who were spending the night with different antics. Not a lot of them were sleeping. Did they all know that doom was lurking? Could they feel it?


	31. Civil war and domestic violence

**Civil war and domestic violence**

The real slaughter broke out less than a week later. Some Troyans took a petrol lorry, added explosives to it and rode it right into the Argive camp, left the truck running and before the Argives knew what was going on the explosives went off, taking several lives with them. In return maddened Argives attacked the outskirts of Troy, loathing and killing recklessly. The hostile activities escalated until only madness remained.  
And - in the middle of it all - Ares! My brother enjoying himself finishing off mortals like they were Giants. I couldn't believe my eyes! What did he think he was doing? Had he lost it completely?

Then I saw Diomedes. He was in a convertible terrain car, armed with a machine gun and some sticky grenades and he was heading for Ares with rage burning in his brown eyes, bluish-black hair flowing. The next thing I knew I was in the passenger's seat talking to the man:  
- If you're going for Ares you'll need help!  
- Great Athena! Diomedes exclaimed.  
- The very same! Now, don't look at me, look where you're driving!

Diomedes was seconds from hitting a concrete wall, but managed to avoid it with a reckless manouvre which almost tipped the vehicle, and then we were heading straight for Ares. I rose from my seat, took the machine gun in my right hand and a grenade in my left.  
- Keep driving! I called out to Diomedes. Don't hit the brakes until I say so!  
- Aye aye, lady!

There was Ares, in his own car, killing people to the left and right, some of them not armed with more than iron swords or makeshift weapon loathed from construction sites. I took aim and then I emptied all the bullets in the chest of the mad god. It was like a film. The world went slow motion. I saw my brother take the hits and then fall down in the seat, bleeding all over. He screamed out in terror and then the scream stopped. The boy who had been driving lost control of the car and the next moment it ran right down in the river Scamandros. I lost sight of everything when Diomedes drove past the event. And reality hit me like if the Moon had come crashing down upon my head. Ares! My little brother! What had I done?

The next moment I had jumped out of Diomedes' car and was at the place where Ares' car had run down in the river. I saw nothing. Not a sign of the car or its driver. Or of my brother. I knew that the madness was still going on around me, but I couldn't hear the shooting and the screams anymore. I was only looking at the streaming, gray waters of Scamandros where the car had disappeared. Had I killed my own brother?

No, suddenly I saw him. He was crawling up on the opposite shore, dragging himself ashore, colouring the water red with his blood. He was bleeding from the chest, from the legs and from wounds in his head. Then he spotted me. A hateful grin in his otherwise handsome face. Then he took off in the air, no doubt heading home.

I disguised myself, sat down on a stone and cried quite a bit. Then someone was talking to me. Hera. I looked up.  
- Athi? How are you?  
- Miserable. You must be furious with me now.  
- For that thing with Ares? I nodded.  
- I almost killed him.

- No, you did not. You only shot him. Filled him with bullets. Zeus is healing him as we speak, and he'll be up and about tomorrow again. And I can't say he didn't deserve it. As much mother I am to him I'm so sick of that attitude of his. That reckless running head over heels into things without thinking. I hope this taught him a lesson.  
- He killed all these people... And I couldn't stand watching it. So I...  
- I know. Hera sat down and laid her arm around my shoulders. But they'd have died anyway. Either here or later. Don't let that eat you away. Now just look at this bedlam! This madness! How are we going to make this end, you think?

- I don't know.  
- Come on! You're supposed to be the smart girl here.  
- I don't feel that smart right now.  
- One more thing, did you see what your little ward Diomedes just did?  
- No...  
- He got all carried away, picked up some Spartan guys and then they went ahead inside Troy and guess who they encounter?

- Helena? Paris? That Hector guy?  
- No, Aphrodite. And Diomedes shoots her right in the chest. So now we got two wounded deities up at Olympos.  
- Almost as bad as the Giant attack then?  
- No, both Aphrodite and Ares were screaming much more than they were bleeding to be honest. It was only bullets, you know. Don't harm as much as blades.

- But they were... adamantine coated. That was why they could penetrate Ares' shielding. See, I did some quick metal transmuting, turned the outermost layer of steel into adamantine before firing at Ares. But I guess the layer was too thin, most of the bullets ricocheted anyway.

- I know. The bullets have to hit the shielding at the right angle, otherwise they are harmless, adamantine or not. It's not like blades, where you can perform a slower and throughout piercing, using your brainwaves to strengthen the element's natural 6D powers.  
- But Diomedes, how could he harm Aphrodite, knowing very little about how immortal shielding works?  
- A lucky shot, Hera guessed. Now, let's get the Chaos out of here, the mortals would have emptied their ammo before nightfall anyway.

- Hera, I don't feel like going to Olympos. I have some great wine at home in Athens. Let's go there instead! I need to talk to reasonable people tonight, so what if I mindcall Nike, Aganthanon, Nardalon, Irdonan and Sakura, to see if they are in for a dinner?  
- Good idea. You _are_ the smart girl after all, Athi. To be honest I'm not that interested in going up home at the moment either. Just out from a big fight with Artemis over this matter.

- Yeah, I know, she's helping the Troyans. Has been doing for a while.  
- But one thinks that a woman who has been the Chair Lady of the Hyperpantheon for such a long time ought to know better. Should know how to use her brain and to listen to reason. Her so-called help has only created more havoc. But she has become so stubborn these days. I tried to tell her this and that about what's really been going on down here, but it was all in vain.  
- What happened?

Hera made a face and went on:  
- Little Mimi created a scene instead, started screaming and cursing at me and called me names. And I lost it, slapped her in her face, and she ran off crying. To Zeus probably.  
- Chaos! This whole business is really bringing the worst out of people! I hope not...

I cut myself off, couldn't go on saying what had been on my mind. But Hera understood. Both she and I had started to fear we had gone too far in our tries to remodel this part of mortal society. Now we both worried that this fight was threatening to bring fatal harm to both the Union and our pantheon.

O*0*O*0*O

Zeus was looking at the gathered group, the rage made his eyes burn like white-hot welding fire.

- This madness must end now! he said. Or the Union will be torn apart. All I have spent decades to put together, all us Union founder's work would be ruined. The Spartan aggressors must leave Ilion!  
- Not until the Troyans release their hostages, said Hera. She was the only one not scared by father's rage. Helena and the rest must be let to go home!  
- But she don't want to go home! Aphrodite replied.

- What do you know about that? I asked the daughter of Astraios. You've seen the same video file as the rest of us all right. But how do you know that there wasn't a gun pointing at Helena outside the picture?  
-There wasn't, your trigger-happy maniac! Aphrodite begun, there was...

- Silence! dad roared. We've been through this already. Now we must settle this without tearing the Union apart. This is what we are here for, not discussing what this Helena really was saying on that faithforsaken video.  
- But we can't solve this without letting Helena go home, Zeus, Hera was saying.

- Or at least having the Troyans releasing her, said Auroanos. Have them bring her and the rest of the hostage here. To Ekarantanni and an independent court. Then let's listen to their story of what really happened in Sparta and then in Troy. We must also hear both Troyans and Spartans involved in this case. This Paris Alexandros for instance. What's his part in the story? We must sort this aggression out. We don't even know today if it's a hostage situation or if it is as Aphrodite and Electra claim, a question of defecting Spartan Clan members. An independent court can perhaps find this truth.  
- That sounds reasonable. Dad was looking proudly at my brother. Auroanos hadn't become the Nexus Chair Lord for nothing. Anyone not in favour of a hearing in an independent court? Speak now or remain silent!

Nobody said anything and dad rose from his seat as to point out that a decision had been made and that the meeting was over.  
- Iris, he said. You are to carry the message to the disputing parts in Ilion! Hermes, you'll go to Sparta with the same message! Astraea, Zephyros, you put together the court!  
- Can I enlist Britomartis? Zephyros asked. She knows these things.  
- Enlist all you want and consider reasonable independent in this case, Zeph, dad said. Britomartis is definitely one of these. But all the rest of you who more or less have been involved in this business, you stay out of it, you hear me!

- But Achilles killed Hector and... Aphrodite started to say.  
- I don't care! dad raged with stress on every word. Hector would have been alive hadn't you started this madness. And so would a lot of others. And you wouldn't have got a bullet through your heart, young lady.  
- I didn't start... Aphrodite began, but Zeus had already turned away from to the goddess.

- The bullet hit Aphrie's heart! Caeros was laughing behind me. Now, that was just the right place for a bullet.  
- And Ares took bullets all over, Dionysos chuckled. You should've heard him whimper about. Ai Ai Ai - Oh Oh Oh - Athena did this to me! Athena did this!  
- Shut up, Dion! Hebe spat. You don't know how much that must've hurt.  
- Achilles is also dead by the way, Iris reported. They said on TV that his body has been found.

Oh no! Achilles!

O*0*O*0*O

At that moment everyone thought a solving of the Troy affair had been made. We hadn't count on a mortal named Odysseus Itac.

Over a night this man had all the Argives and their hang-arounds pack the trailers, connect them to the tow cars and board the ferries they had came in, and start heading out into the Central Ocean. The only thing left on the muddy plain was a concrete horse statue. And the next morning surprised and curious Troyans were gathering around it, not knowing what to make out of it. Why had the aggressors left? What was this thing, and why was it here?

- A bomb? several Troyans were suggesting. But no bomb equipment was found inside. It was just a statue of the kind you find in people's gardens. I saw it all through my farsight screen, watching the Troyans discussing what to do with the thing. Then I suddenly saw a woman I recognised. Akvalli Kida. One of the Spartans. She was pushing herself through the gathered Troyans until she reached the horse.  
- It's a gift to the gods. Poseidon methinks. The Westerners use to give him horse statues for some reason. Why don't we take it and put it in our main temple of Poseidon? He'd definitely like it.

Akvalli's arrival rose some suspicion, but eventually there were some other Troyans backing her story with the Poseidon horses up. (Fair enough, it was true, at least the Arcadians and the Dorians sacrifices horse-statues to Poseidon.) So the statue was taken to the main temple of Poseidon and every Troyan and his dog seemed happy. But when the horse was in place a little radio transmitter the Troyans had failed to notice started to send signals.

These signals were received by an aeroplane which sent out a weapon, a kind of rocket that was homing in on the radio signals. And less than ten minutes later the weapon hit the temple of Poseidon and blasted it and set several surrounding buildings on fire. Hundreds of Troyans perished in that disaster, including Paris Alexandros, and we were only minutes away from the outbreak of a full-scale civil war. A war that definitely would have torn the Union apart.

Once again peace was saved by Chair Lord Auroanos. He managed to get that independent court up and running and sent me to pick that plane and it's crew, and haul them to court too. They claimed that they were only obeying order, but refused to tell who was giving these orders. They were too afraid, they said. So they were judged according to Union laws and sent off to work-camp where they had to work off their large damages for lost lives and destroyed property.

But it was the independent court that attracted the largest interest from people around the Union. The court came to the conclusion that Helena should be brought up to witness, so she had to leave her Troyan shelter together with her handful of followers.  
- And naturally Helena claims that she was a victim of kidnapping all the time, and what she really wanted was going home to Menelaos and the Spartan League, Auroanos said.  
- And what do the Troyans say? Astraea asked.

- Very little, since they are all dead, Hermes said. At least those who knew things. Like Paris, Cassandra and Hector.  
- Cassandra died too? Astraea looked surpriced.  
- By her own hand, Hermes told. They found her dead in the prison the day before her hearings were going to begin. And with that way to go I bet there's little to be found in her soul when she reaches Hades. The Lethe effect will have taken the most.

- I guess now we'll never get to know the truth, Poseidon said. Curse that man Odysseus!  
- He was only obeying orders, I returned. You leave him out of this! It was this Salyestra...  
- Who is now dead. Very convenient, Poseidon went on. One can clearly see your plotting behind this, Athena.

- Now you listen to me, sea-god! This "burning down Troy" was not my idea of a solution. I did support the Spartans in this case, that's true, but I didn't want it to end this way. I wanted Auroanos' independent court.  
- You were not that keen on it from the start, Athena, Auroanos said.  
- Did I say something like that?  
- Well at least you hinted at it.  
- Stop picking on Athena! Helios ordered, and I looked with surprise at him.

- And what happens if Agamemnon decides to start all over with this fuzz? Artemis wondered.  
- Don't you know what's happened, Mimi? Hebe asked.  
- No, what?

- Agamemnon's dead. He had hardly returned to Mycenae before he was shot down, Hebe told. They believe his wife was behind it. She has a new lover you see.  
- And it doesn't stop there, Iris went on. Orestes, Agamemnon's son revenges old papa by killing her. And now he's on the run with the mob after him.  
- What a total mess! Apollon sighed.

O*0*O*0*O

I hadn't seen Ares for a while, and I really felt I should talk to him, so I gathered all courage I had and went over to his place, ready for a hostile reception. But Ares was sitting apathetic by the TV looking at the latest events going on in the Independent Court. When I entered the door he just looked up and hinted at a chair.  
- Have a seat, Athena.  
- Ares, I said. I'm so sorry. I'm so really sorry for what I did back in Ilion. It must have hurt like Chaos.

Ares held out his hand:  
- I'm sorry too for all this crap. I guess I just got carried away and jumped head over heels and brain disconnected into something I should've stayed out of. Can you accept my apology in return, sister?

I took his hand:  
- I guess we all got a bit carried away. So apology accepted, Ares. On my behalf that is. I think poor Odysseus is less eager to forgive, since he seems to be stuck somewhere shipwrecked, and no-one knows where right at the moment.  
- Serves him right, I guess. What do you make of all this, by the way? Ares hinted at the TV. Too much fancy law talk, right? Britomartis, Zephy, Dike and their pals are having the time of their lives!  
- Yeah, but I think they can solve this mess. If they do it the right way we might even get rid of the outlaw part of the Clans.  
- And just how is that supposed to happen?

- A lot of old bigwigs are dead. Like Agamemnon. Among those alive are people like Auraora Tilinethe and Philovan Marekre who want to cut the criminal part because it kills credibility.  
- You think they'll have their way?  
- I'm going to help them. So is Hera.

- Auro, Mimi and Ollie want to get rid of the Clans completely, Ares said.  
- I think they will realise it's almost impossible. Better to redefine them into something new.  
- Perhaps you're right, Athi. Anyway, I'm glad this crap is over.  
- Yeah, and Aphrodite has been appointed project manager over that theogenesis thing, so I guess that's going to keep her busy for a while. That and Anteros. I believe you're the father to him too.

- That happens to be me, yeah, Ares sighed. But breeding new gods, he smiled almost scornfully. Isn't it better doing something about these YUGI's already around? I get so sick when I see people like Rhode, Akakallis, Pan, Adonis, Euphrosyne and Priapos just slacking around, getting drunk and having sex.  
- Exactly my point. But when not even a Giant attack could convince these people to start taking their lives serious, I guess nothing can.  
- So it's Theogenesis then, Ares said.  
- I guess so.  
- But Aphrie as project manager...  
- I actually think she's the right person for it. If anyone can match couples, she is the one.

- Anyone said Odysseus? was the next thing we heard, from the doorway. Both Ares and I turned, and there she was. Little sister Hebe, goddess of gossip.  
- I guess we both said his name, Ares said and rolled his eyes, and then he pointed out something regarding Adonis I couldn't care less about but which apparently made Hebe a bit sour. So I urged her to tell about Odysseus instead.  
- America? I rose my eyebrows after she was done. He went to America! Well I should have guessed. This kind of men never seem to be able to settle down.

- No, he stayed a while on an island belonging to my friend Calypso, making up amazing stories to the journalists there. Callie wanted to hire him as a PR consultant or something, and he accepted the job, but the day he was about to start he was just - gone. Apparently he did something similar with Circe too.  
- Did he receive payment in advance or anything?  
- Not that I know of, perhaps Callie was too embarrassed to admit such a thing.

- Like she couldn't have traced down a mortal?  
- I don't know.  
- Crazy guy. But smart at the same time. Too bad he wasn't immortal, I'd love to have a man like him around.  
- I bet you'd do! You like them with brains, I know. Was that why you went after Susano? Amaterasu's brother?  
- Yeah. Big mistake. I always seem to pick the wrong ones. Except for Chrysandros. To bad he wasn't... wasn't...

- I know. Someone else'll come around for you, Athi. Just wait!  
- I'm sick of waiting! I pointed out and Ares rolled his eyes again. One more girlie comment and those brown eyes would be lying on the carpet I guessed.


	32. The Theogenesis Teens

**The Theogenesis Teens**

- There aren't a lot of people who have a destined purpose in life, although a lot like to think so and are desperately searching for it. Even among us immortals. You, youngsters, are among those exceptional few who have that purpose, who were born for a reason. And that purpose is to take place in the Immortal Nation.

Seven young immortals were sitting in front of me, Hermes and Aphrodite in a small conference room in the Palace of the Gods, the immortal gathering hall in Danakeia just below Olympos. The children of the Theogenesis project, born from mortal parents and destined a place among the gods. They were ranging in age from Izo, who would be 15 in a few weeks and still had a voice that wavered between a boys and a mans, to Endion, a handsome man just past 18. The rest of them were three women: Psyche, Deinare and Aella and two men: Hesperios and Phosphoros. The latter were identical twins and hard to tell apart if you didn't know where to look.

- Today the Union Immortal Nation consists of 628 individuals, including the seven of you. I begun. And we are too few to be able to do everything needed to be done by Union Immortals. These duties ranges from warding mortal societies and trades over valuable service to other gods, to politics including in the Nexus Hyperpantheon and the Divine Kings office, headed by my father.  
- Great Zeus, Izo commented. I smiled at the young man, always so eager to show off what he knew, even if it was elementary.  
- Yes, and it was Zeus who 22 years ago decided that we should initiate what has been named the Theogenesis project. Theogenesis means creation of gods. In rough outlines the project was done like this: Asklepios, a god who couldn't participate here today, but whom you'll meet at your initiation party tonight, got the task to trace down mortals with a certain gene in his or her DNA.

_They all know about DNA_? Aphrodite mindspoke to my left. Hermes nodded, _Athena has made sure of that._ I went on, unbothered by the exchange of thoughts between my co-pantheonites:  
- The gene in question is the one termed immortal gene, since two paired trigger immortality. In this project we have been content with selecting mortals from Ekarantanni and its closest surroundings. After all, it's an area inhibited by more than 12 million people. Asklepios found about 4000 mortals in fertile age simply carrying that gene.

- From where had they got it? Endion asked.  
- From some immortal ancestor. A bit more than half of these 4000 were sorted out immediately. First went those already married to other mortals. Then went people who weren't medically suitable for our project, or those too closely related to certain Ekarantannian immortals.

- Great Zeus, Phosphoros was smiling, we all know…  
- Blasphemy! Deinare called out.  
- Can't be, Hesperios defended his brother. We're gods too now, and since…  
- You ain't no god, you're a fly-brained sewer-punk with no manners, Deinare retorted.  
- Shut up! Behave yourself! Aella snapped.  
- There were a lot other gods and goddesses than Zeus, Hermes simply told. We don't want the risk of inbreeding.

I didn't comment on this umpteenth reference to dads little "hobby", I simply drank from my glass of nectar and went on:  
- Some other details disqualified another 1600, we wanted them to be reasonable wealthy, educated and not too young or too old. That left us with 303 mortals. Among those were your parents. Enters Aphrodite.

I nodded to Aphrie who began:  
- I'm a goddess of love, a matchmaker. Besides being project manager for Theogenesis my main duty was finding couples who would fall in love and mate. I had 303 people to work with and I split them in relevant character groups and then I started to "date" them. I ended up with 60 couples who were now starting to have children.

- How much did these people know of your involvement? Endion wanted to know. At least my parents had probably no clue that they had been "paired". They met at the City Festival and fell in love.  
- They didn't know a thing, Aphrie answered. We didn't want to show the mortals that we were interfering in their lives. In fact we do that a lot more than mortals know. Pulling all kinds of strings. It's necessary to keep the society working. Your parents, Laiyitia and Terindos I do remember. They were from a minor group of art- and sports interested upper middle class mortals, where I had hard to find a working match. Having your mum and dad to meet was one of my last attempt before giving that group up and resorting them with others.

- Anyway, Aphrodite went on, 60 couples means that approximately 120 children will be born. And since the chance for an immortal is ¼ we were counting on 30 of your kind. The outcome was a little less than that, 24 to be exact. You seven is the oldest batch and the first ones to know the truth about who you really are and to be initiated in the Immortal Nation.

Hermes took over:  
- Athena will be responsible for your basic education, where you are to learn what the Immortal Nation is about. I will be helping her with practical things, show you around and have you meeting people.  
- Zeus? Aella asked. She sounded exited at the prospect and Aphrodite mindspoke a giggle in my head. I returned an image of a sticked-out tongue. Sometimes she was so childish! And, I had to admit, so was I.  
- You're all going to meet Zeus, Hermes told. That meeting is already scheduled for next month. And – before you're asking that question burning on your tongue, Deinare: No, you are not under any obligations so far. Not anyone of you. You have been breeded for a purpose, that is true, to strengthen and diversifying the Immortal Nation, increasing the number of immortals and possible gods. But any of you can chose which path of life you want. Even go on to live as a mortal for some years.

- So we don't have to be gods, you mean? Psyche asked. I can go back to my parents and sisters in Dessaucanrili and live with them, working in dads herbal garden business.  
- Yes, you can, Psyche, if that's what you prefer to do with your life, I told. But you have to face the fact that you're not going to age…  
- I can live with that all right!  
- Never ever that is, I went on. Which means you can't take a mortal man and start a mortal family, because you're going to loose them within say 80 years, and that would break your heart.

- This is where we come to the only mandatory part of your further education, Hermes continued. The information about what immortality and eternal youth really is about, about the fact that you can still be killed, about the side effects that comes with immortality and how to prepare yourself for loosing your mortal family and going on forever. A man named Orion who has experienced that very thing will tell you about it.

- Then, he went on, you will also learn to master other traits connected to immortality, like healing, mindspeach and further on. You are more or less aware of them today, but there's a lot of practising to do. Some of you will receive individual training in certain areas where you have valuable skills. This will take about two months. After that you are free to do whatever you like. Leaving or staying with the Immortal Nation and, if staying, choosing careers within. Any questions?

There were hundreds from the seven youngsters and Aphrodite, Hermes and I ended up answering and discussing long after the scheduled ending of our meeting. And although it was a bit tiring with all these questions I rejoiced in them, it proved that these were intelligent and thinking youngsters, even if their manners needed some polishing. But that's only normal for their age, and manners and good sense usually come with time and with rubbing against other people.

- Why aren't all immortals gods? Hesperios asked.  
- Because god is not a biological definition, I answered, even if some people use it that way. A god or a goddess is an immortal who is using his or her talents to help others, mostly mortals, or to make life in the Union better in other ways. These immortals get - and deserve worshipers. Not all immortals do that. Some have chosen other directions in life.

- How can you tell age of an immortal? Deinare wanted to know.  
- Ask them, Aphrodite simply stated.  
- But isn't that unpolite?  
- Why should it be?  
- Among mortals it is, Deinare said. I guess… it's because people don't really wanna admit they're this or that many years old. Or young… or whatever.

- I can't really see how it matters, Aphrie said. Not among immortals at least. It's as neutral as asking where someone was born. Even more neutral I guess, since it's hardly sensitive.  
- But what if someone lies about his or her age? Phosphoros asked.  
- It's really impossible to tell after the age of 20-22, I said. Biologically that is, since the cellular renewal keeps going in an unchanged rate after reaching adulthood. But today we keep records of each and every immortal born, and save for some old deities, born long before the Union was founded, we have everyone's birth certificate stored.

- Have immortals pulled such lies? Phosphoros again.  
- It has happened. Especially back in the early days of the Union. A lot of gods claimed aristocratic heritage and were adding centuries, even millennia to their age, to get a higher ranking.  
- Cool! Deinare said. Among mortals everyone just want to appear younger. Except for when it comes to entering certain clubs.  
- You'll learn more about that in your "Immortal History" classes in about two months time, I tempted them.  
- You're gonna hold them, Athena? Phosphoros asked.  
- Yeah.  
- Cool, Deinare repeated herself.

Hermes had mindcalled for fruit and finger food when it became clear that the meeting was going to be extended. Then Aphrie ate half of it, but I guess she can be excused since she was pregnant. As usual she didn't want to give the name of the father, but I could at least sense that it was one of my brothers. I only hoped it was finally Hephaistos. Having Aphrodite as a project-manager had been a novelty indeed. You couldn't really say that she was slack, but she was a casual and forgetful and unused to responsibility. On the other hand she wanted to do her best, and she had been excellent in the matchmaking part. She had grown with the trust, matured a bit.

***

Demeter came up to me during the initiation party that night.  
- So how does it look?  
- Fine, I think. Only one I'm a bit worried about is little Psyche. She seems a bit shy and uncomfortable with the situation and wants to go back to her mortal life.

Demeter looked out over the great Olympic ballroom, filled with Ekarantannian deities of all kinds, from Zeus to curious YUGI's. Psyche was standing by herself under a potted palm tree with a glass in her hand and looking out over the crowd, her dark-brown hair a curtain almost hiding her sweet face, petite figure in a closed pose saying "don't come near me".  
- Someone should go talking with her, Demeter pondered.  
- Problem is she don't say that much. And I guess people tire.  
- I'll give it a try at least.

After the party was over and the guests had left I found myself with ears itching from too much talk and the stomach hungering for more to eat, since I hadn't had the time to sample enough from the buffet. So I went down to the kitchen to satisfy my cravings. There I met Helios, who seemed to be out on the same quest. So together we ravaged the fridges, sampling leftovers from earlier dinners and other goodies.

- Ah, you found lobster? he asked. Where?  
- Section A3, down to the left. There's plenty left.  
- Oh, Athi, there's chocolate cake too. Want some?  
- Do you have to ask? Hope there's some vanilla ice-cream to go with it.

- What do you drink, Athi?  
- I think I've had enough of wine. There's some chilled nectar?  
- Plenty of it. You have a favourite?  
- I'll take what you're having.  
- Hope you like papaya then.  
- We really got to stop meeting like this, I joked when Sunshine Boy and I compared our overflowing plates.

Then we sat down together and stuffed ourselves, while Helios wanted to know everything about the Theogenesis project. So I told him, and after a while I found out that he was a great listener, he was interested and offered advices of a kind I hadn't got earlier. I had been talking too much to dad, Hera, Artemis and the project members, not bothering with others. I really should be talking more with Helios, I decided. He was a great pal.


	33. New gods in town

**New gods in town**

Hera had been trying for ages to convince me to join her on a trip to the Ikris springs. There's a spa there which she tries to visit every year, she says it keeps her young.  
- It's like you're a new person when you come back from there. You feel like you're 20 again and can take on the whole world. Like you've got a whole new self.

This time I took the bate:  
- Being 20 again, that sounds like a good thing when you're about to educate seven Theogenesis Teens about being a deity. I'll punch a hole in my calendar and go with you!

So a week later Hera and I packed our bags and left for a long weekend in Ikris, just north of Weralmia in Angresidor. The Ikris Spa Hotel was located on a high altitude with clear, chilly mountain air, housed in a pink granite building clinging to the mountainside as if it was a part of the rock itself. A meandering road took those not flying up there and outside there was a little garden with sturdy apple trees with too many wind-chimes in and a tiny, grassed lawn. A waterfall contributed to the ambience. I would have thought the place larger and fancier, but this spa was more thriving on a family feeling than luxury and glitter.

The hotel was run by a spring goddess (Naiads, as they call themselves) named Akraia, a comely woman with short and curly auburn hair framing a round face with olive complexion, protruding cheek-bones and deep set cocoa eyes. She appeared busy but was greeting Hera with the welcoming of an old friend rather than a lesser goddess to a superior. I also received an unexpectedly warm hug and a heartily welcome.

- Akraia and I go way back, Hera explained when we were soaking in our first hot spring, beneath a lit chandelier, with incense burning around us and soft music in the background. I got to know her already during my years in Argos. She came to the springs beneath the volcano Xaneth, having fled her original spring when this place became a Titan stronghold at the end of the war. We became friends back then, two little goddesses a long long way from home. To be true I didn't even know where my home was back then.

- Interesting, I commented. She doesn't look that old.  
- It's perhaps because she hasn't been around that much, going through much ordeal. She's a home-girl, prefers staying by her hot water springs and taking care of people coming there instead of going elsewhere. And she tends to stay out of trouble and intriguing. I guess that's a Naiad thing by the way. They seldom care about the big picture, they're content with their little world.

- The things you thrive on, Hera, I smiled. You know, I got this question from Deinare of the Theogenesis Teens. She wanted to know if you could tell age on immortals.  
- I don't really think so, Hera said. We all have different experiences, and then there's some people who don't take things in, they just let pain and trouble wash off them. Like Poseidon or Neyta. On the other end of the scale I've met mortal children who looks like 500 years old war gods, having been through terrible things.

After sitting in silence for a while Hera went on:  
- Wonder if they will ever get rid of that epithet.  
- What?  
- Theogenesis Teens.  
- Depends on what they do with their lives. If they make themselves a name I guess it'll wear off. Remember Aethra, she was considered a YUGI for 90 years. Then she suddenly excels in fighting Titans, looses that derogatory epithet and goes on to be a revered haute couture goddess, even outshining Zia and Abagias.

- They seem to be creative and clever youngsters all of them, Hera said. I'm only worried about that little girl. The one Demeter is trying to help.  
- Psyche?  
- Yes, she seems embarrassed by all the attention and not really liking the thought of being a goddess. Like it scares her. And like we're awesome beings who frighten her.  
- I wonder… Maybe Eleithya could help her.  
- She probably can. If Psyche can be made to trust her. According to Demeter Aphrodite has been rather hard on Psyche, and it has hurt her. She's more sensitive than the others.  
- Yeah, I've noticed. Wonder why Aphrie… I'll have to talk to her. Then I guess you should keep an eye on Aella, think she has set her eyes on dad.

- Oh dear! It's that blond beauty, right?  
- Yeah, Aphrodite without boobs. She can't wait to meet him, and there's something about her that… you know.  
- My poor husband, he can't keep his hands off them, no matter what it costs. And they take advantage of it. Some are just content with having him for a night, others have entire agendas. I've told him… But he just considers me still being jealous. As if I haven't learned after all these years that it doesn't affect what he and I have.  
- Dad knows you're right. He just won't admit it. It's his soft spot, this girl thing.

- Aphrie's boobs by the way, there's really nothing special with them, Hera changed subject. It's the way she displays them. She uses a specially designed girdle to push them up so you get a narrow cleft like this: Hera showed with her hands how it was done.  
- Looks ridiculous in my opinion.  
- The blokes don't think so, apparently they fall all over themselves.

I started to laugh.  
- Aphrie's secret weapon, a magic girdle! Wonder if I should try such a thing on Xenon. Nope, he's not that easily fooled. But Susano might fall for it. He likes biggies on display.  
- In fact I tried it once, Hera told. Zeus said he liked it, but I thought it was too cursing uncomfortable to wear longer than half an evening.

O0O0O

Hera had been right. When leaving Ikris I felt refreshed, like a new person. We had been relaxing in hot waters, some still, others bubbly, we had received massage and nail-treatment and all kinds of treats. All pointless worries and angers that had clogged my mind were gone, and the senses were open for new and fresh input. I knew that none of my sisters would take the advise to go here – well maybe Ersa – but I sure wanted to come back. With or without Hera. We had finished the weekend with having our hair braided the American way, and our new hairdos raised a lot of attention when returning to Olympos.

- You look faba-baba! Cleopatra exclaimed and Ariadne and Hestia uttered agreeing sounds. Pandia came over and wanted to touch some of my gazillions of braids, taking a closer look at the glittering pearls and colourful feathers attached.  
- Want to do this too, but on the other hand I don't want to be a copycat, she stated.

- Don't worry, Dia, Artemis said. If I know the Ekarantanni goddesses right, half of them will be braided within a month after seeing Hera and Athena.  
- Let's drink to that, Hebe said from her usual place behind the bar, bowed down and took up some bottles. She juggled two of them in her hands.  
- What you got there? Cleopatra wanted to know.  
- Emagoranda, lori-grapes year 226.  
- Careful with that! Dionysos exclaimed, his eyes widening with terror. That's vintage stuff! Marvellous season!  
- Then let's open it, Hebe decided. Before I accidentally drop one. Dad! Ollie! Lea! Hermy! Come on over here! We're going to celebrate.

- What? Apollon wanted to know.  
- Athi and mammy's new hairdos, Hebe answered.  
- Oh, for Faith's sake…  
- Ollie, don't be such a bore, Astraea urged and took him and dad under her arms and walked over to the bar. Hermes had already skidded over to us, occupying the last high chair on the short end beside Helios. Astraios, Eos, Poseidon and Caeros appeared out of nowhere, apparently triggered by the word _celebrate_.

Dad walked right up to Hera and tickled her waist from behind:  
- Oh, I just love those braids. Makes you look so cute, sweetie! Like an innocent summer child, hardly 17 years old. There's always something new about you when you come back from Ikris. New hairdo, new makeup-style, a ring in your navel, new… then he leaned over and whispered something in Hera's ear, which made her blush, like she really was 17 instead of 358.

- Can't you braid your hair that way? Dionysos asked his Ariadne, yanking lightly at one of her black pigtails.  
- It's too curly, she frowned.  
- It works fine with curls too, Hera told. In fact it started among the dark-skinned on the Southern Continent, all with hairs like Ariadne's. Only that the style took a roundabout way through America to reach us in Thessalia.

- Where's Aphrodite? I asked while the others continued discussing hair.  
- Giving birth, Apollon stated calmly.  
- Okay… I looked around the gathering. Of my brothers Ares, Auroanos, Hercules and Hephaistos were missing. Any of them was probably the father. And it sure wasn't Hercules, Xurasa would have his guts in an envelope if he had betrayed her with Aphrodite.

Demeter, who obviously sensed my direction of thoughts, told me:  
- You can see her later, I've been talking to young Psyche, and now she feels a bit better…  
- Don't worry, I wasn't planning on interrupting her birth-pains if that's what you think, I started before realising how sour I sounded and excused myself. I'm just worried about the girl.  
- Athi, I fear she won't stay among the immortals. Apparently Aphrodite had given the teens some easy task, Psyche failed and Aphrie had called her useless and a dunce in front of the other six.

I grunted.  
- I didn't know. I'll have a word with her right after she's done birthing.  
- Athi, I've already been talking to her, Hermes told. Psyche is not the only one she's been pushing around, but the others have been able to handle it. Apparently that was what the test was about. Their way of handling criticism.  
- It's to early… Why couldn't Aphrie had talked to me?  
- She wants to be the one in charge, I guess that's all, Hermes guessed.

But I couldn't be mad at Aphrie. Not after learning that her baby-girl was after all Hephaistos'. Little Aganthe slept in her father's arms when I visited, and my brother was radiating with happiness. Aphrie looked tired but happy and assured me that she would soon be back in the project again.  
- No prob', I told her. Get the rest you need, it's not like it was a complete surprise that an attention-craving little new person popped out of you. Aphrodite smiled, looking relieved. I guess she had feared that I would chew her out about Psyche.  
- Athi, she asked me, will you keep an eye on the twins? I think… They're a bit on the wild side and will need a steady hand to look after them. Perhaps you should try to get some of the "tough guys" taking them as part-time wards. Like Hercules or Arcas.

- I'll ask them. How wild is "wild side" by the way?  
- A bit… they've been involved in some things not completely legal. Like fighting. Dealing with stolen goods and unregistered weapons it seems. And we can't have gods-to-be with the cops after them.  
- Any other problem while I've been away?  
- Only Aella. She's been flirting with Zeus.  
- I knew it! I sighed.  
- He hasn't fallen. At least not yet. But Aella hasn't given up, I'm quite sure of that. I know those looks, these pheromones. Hormones running out of control. But now I'm going to sleep.

I left the new parents, and decided to look into that "wild side" thing Hesperios and Phosphoros were said to have been involved in. It worried me more than it had Aphrodite. No one was really going to care that much if Aella managed to lure dad into bed, but young gods involved with illegal business was not exactly my idea of a successful outcome of the Theogenesis project.

O0O0O

- How comes my sister has not been included in our group? Endion asked, sitting opposite of me in the project office in the Palace of the Gods. By now I know she's also an immortal, and by not including her you make me wonder if you have another agenda for her.  
- Don't worry, Endion! I told the young immortal, she'll get her education too. She's just a bit too young yet. Only 12. Ililone will be in the next batch starting in five years time. Then she will be 17 and more than ready to become a goddess.  
- So it's only about age then? Endion asked and looked a bit relieved.  
- Yes. An immortal is considered of age being 16. We thought the ages around that year being the best for young surpriceling immortals to start this kind of education.

- But I think, with all due respect Athena, you could at least somehow inform these young immortals what their lives are all about a bit earlier. I grew up being the different one. The spooky guy. Just because I saw what other people thought and what was going on in other places, and on top of that I seemed to be invulnerable. Before I learned to mask these skills, I scared the crap out of other kids, my teachers – even my parents. I came to regard me as the freak, and was even scared of myself. And in the end I tended to stick to myself, became a lonely wolf who walked the streets at night, dreaded facing the truth about myself. I feared I was cursed. Now I see the same happen to my sister. And I just want to go get her, take her with me to this place. Where she really belongs.

I sat in silence for a while, cheek resting in right hand and thought about what Endion had told.  
- You have a point, I finally said. Is your sister very lonely?  
- I visited her last week. Told her partly about my education, about what my life is about these days, and then I promised her it would be all right. Soon. That was the only solace I could give her at the moment.  
- Endion, I said after thinking a bit more, talk to your parents, then take Ililone to your place! Tell her that you are working with the gods, and that's what your talents are about! And that's to be her destiny too. I'll talk to some of the others, see what there is to do about young surpricelings, if we can take them under our wings earlier in life. We sure don't want anyone to get hurt by being different.

- Thank you, Athena. Can I bring her already this weekend?  
- Even tonight. I think we can arrange something considering her basic education if mortal school is too hard for her to endure.  
- She's too intelligent. She's ahead of all the other kids in class. Should be at the university really.  
- Then I can't see anything wrong in taking her out from school at least. But don't forget to talk to your parents, Endion.

Hesperios and Phosphoros were the next ones to enter the office, and they sure looked awkward, like they knew the scolding awaiting them. And I didn't hold back. The first thing I did was throwing their records at them, asking them what the Chaos they had been up to. Fraud, illegal dealing, bar fights, auto thefts, false testifies in court – now, was that what made people into gods?

Phosphoros was staring down at his feet, but Hesperios looked up, seemingly a bit braver.  
- Athena, he said. That's in the past. That's something we did back then. To survive. The big guys were at us, we didn't know by then that their knives couldn't hurt us, that there was another chance for us waiting. And we wanted to be in the gang. Not being considered wimps. So we did these things. To fit in. To be considered cool.  
- Gang crime? I asked, although I already knew their background.  
- Right, Phosphoros said. We saw what happened to the cowards. The dudes that bailed out. They got beaten up. If they were lucky they ended up as errant guys. Watchdogs. And they never got any chicks.

The twins were good-looking even by immortal standards with their thick, wavy, dark-brown hair and intense emerald eyes over finely arched noses and well-defined lips. They were sure going to have women turn their heads after them, in fact it was already happening. Sure, they weren't the generic Mr handsome like Endion, there was something irregular by their looks, but that was in an intriguing way.

- And we have taken our punishment, Hesperios followed suit. We never got to jail, we were considered too young, but we had to work off some of the damage we done. But if there's something more you immortals want us to do to make amend, we will. Within reasonable limits of course.  
- I like that very last statement, I said. Proves that you have pride, young men. That you're not ready to be insulted by someone over your past. But there's one thing I want you to do. Besides promise to cut that life of course.

- What? the men asked in chorus.  
- I'm going to give you a list of other surpricelings. The ones still too young for initiation. I want you to keep an eye on them, see to it that they don't get into the same kind of trouble as you did. You know the signs. Look for them and act upon them.  
- What do we do if we find someone in trouble?  
- You're to become gods. Use what you have learned, use your imagination. I trust you'll come up with something.

O0O0O

- That's why I think we should start taking care of these young people earlier in life, I told the gathered deities. Besides Hermes, Aphrodite and Asklepios there were dad, Neyta, the Major-Immortal Cassiopeia and her assistant Okiardan, Kallirhoe and Xenon, people who also had been more or less involved in the Theogenesis project.  
- But the twins grew up in an unruly environment and Endion and his sister Ililone seem to have been a bit over-intelligent and too sensitive to their surrounding. Surely, not everybody is going to have these problems, Cassiopeia said.

- No, but we can't be sure other problems won't happen to other young surpriceling immortals in the future, I said.  
- Isn't it enough to monitor them? the Major-Immortal asked. That could be a fitting task for Hesperios and Phosphoros.  
- My daughter is right, dad said. A bad upbringing can render an immortal useless for divine tasks. Even making her or him dangerous. We have seen examples of that earlier. Piferti of Rangeirdan and Ahriman for instance.

- None of them were surpricelings, Okiardan pointed out. Ahriman was even an aristocrat. From the house of Zai.  
- Doesn't matter, dad said. Both of them had shattered childhoods which made them dysfunctional as adults.  
- Then there's another thing, Aphrodite said. We meddled with some mortals lives, in a way we created those youths for our own agendas. It's only fair we make sure they get a good upbringing. We simply owe it to them.

- How can a god owe something to a mortal? Okiardan asked.  
- Oh, come on! Aphrodite sighed.  
- They're not mortals and you know it, I stated. They are young people who are to become deities. Then there's the old give and take-symbiosis between mortals and immortals. They revere us, turn to us, worship us and in return we rule, help and guard them. The day we abandon the mortals, they will stop worshiping us. Like in Lemuria.  
- No one is talking about abandoning mortals, Okiardan said.  
- I know that. I just answered your question for Faith's sake.  
- Can we move on? dad asked. We have more points on the agenda. How does the education go, Athena?

- According to programme. I've done some minor adjustments, postponing their attendance to the Open Forum to Dark Month. They wanted to see the oracle business in Delphi and Apollon promised to show them around. But the only day he could make it is the same date as next Open Forum. But we're starting history classes next week, and I still hope Poseidon and Hera can give us the complete Blue Gold adventures.

- And their training? dad asked.  
- Hestia and Aeolus are starting next week, Aphrodite said. Also according to plans. Eleithya has also confirmed that they are all in a good mental state, no remaining identity crisis or alienation traumas concerning their mortal families. Since Endion got Ililone in his ward he's feeling much better too. I believe we can finish according to plan next year.  
- But we lost Psyche?  
- Unfortunately yes. She quit ten days ago, the first week after the mandatory classes.

- And what are the sketches for the future of the project? Neyta wanted to know.  
- Next batch is on in five years time, Hermes said. Until then we might do some changes in the education, and I bet we're also going to start monitoring the young surpricelings more closely up until them, even if we might not follow Athena's suggestion about taking them all in as wards within the Immortal Nation. But I'm convinced we have to discuss that further.

- And will there be more match-making, more surpricelings? Neyta again.  
- That's too early to tell, Hermes said.  
- By the way, I've found one more surpriceling, Asklepios told. A natural one. I mean, one born outside the Theogenesis project. Boy's five years old, so I guess he'll be in for the last batch.

- I have a question, Cassiopeia said. How come we don't hold this kind of introduction with all young immortals when they approach maturity age? That would have helped us with the YUGI problem, I'm certain.  
- I've answered that before, dad said. These immortals have parents who are supposed to give them this start in life. Or at least ask others to help them with that. The Theogenesis surpricelings were born from mortal parents, and thus without the chance for such an introduction.

- But Zeus, are these young immortals to be denied a good start in life because of careless parents?  
- No. I will look into the problem. There have been very few immortals born the last decades. Perhaps we could approach to the parents of these children with an offer of a similar education. On the other hand I'm not going to tell any parent that he or she is unfit to raise his or her child.

O0O0O

We taught the youths about the working of the Nexus, about dads office, about the Titan and Giant wars, we took them to meet the other Grand Pantheons, including Amon's in Aegyptos and Izanagi's in Nippon. We also took them to the great American city Manhattan, almost as big as Ekarantanni and to the Amphibians land Locharia beneath the waves.

And 14 months after the first initiation we had a big party in the Palace of the Gods, celebrating the six graduated deities. Their mortal families were there too, proud and a bit in awe. We had given all six a chance to tell what they wanted to do with their coming lives and what they were looking forward to. All of them did good, each one in his or her way, from Izo who had written a poem to Aella who simply stated that she had just joined Helios' energy resources project.

There were boring speeches, food, beverages and music. And gossip.  
- No, Aella never had your dad, Aphrodite told me. Apparently she's bunking up with Diovis.  
- Pan has challenged Apollon for a music contest, Philotes said.  
- Pan? That brat! Can't believe my ears. What make him think he can outplay my big brother?  
- Some bimbos who have been flattering him, Philotes guessed.

- I just found out who's the father to Britomartis' son, Nike told.  
- Who? several of us chorused.  
- Don't tell me it's Pelasgos! Artemis exclaimed. Because then I owe Eleithya money.  
- Don't worry, Mimi, Nike smiled. It's Ra of Aigyptos.

One after one my six students came up thanking me.  
- You were harsh. But fair, Izo stated.  
- Thanks for letting me taking care of Ililone, Endion said.  
- You're the best, I want you to have this. Deinare said and gave me a necklace of corals and pearls. And I didn't have the heart to tell her I already had an identical one at home.  
- You know, we still haven't finished that discussion about the definition of evil, Aella told.  
- I'm looking forward to do that soon, I answered.

And the twins, they just hugged me. They had been so talkative the past year, and I guess they were trying to make up for it. Now they were going into the Security Organisation, working against mortal gang-crime.

Aphrodite is seldom wrong when it comes to love-affairs. But this time she was. Aella _had_ been with dad. But only once, a classic one night stand, and then she had moved on. To Diovis, the son of Dike and Phaeton.

The day was already breaking when I came up home. Dad was sitting with Hera talking and sharing a plate of small food. Hera did the talking and dad did the eating, just as usual. And since they didn't mind I joined them. After a while came Helios, Auroanos, Cleopatra and Demeter, and Auroanos started to eat from dad and Hera's plate.  
- Get your own stuff, son! dad told him.

- I'm not that hungry, Auro answered and nicked another chili-dipped scrimp. But I got a mind call from Ireka, seems like that hurricane is building up faster than expected. You might have to deal with it, dad.  
- Another sleepless night, Zeus answered, since _might have to_ usually means_ will have to _when it comes to these weather systems. I better get Ersa and Caeros and we'll take on that storm immediately. See you later, people!

Dad kissed Hera, rose and left. Auro sat down on the vacant place and ate all the rest of the scrimps while talking to his mother. Not hungry my butt!

- Athi, there's someone who wants to see you outside. Someone who says she wants to be in for the next round of divine introduction, Demeter said.  
- Who?  
- Come see for yourself!

In the lobby I found Eros, who was sitting with his arms around Psyche. He had brought her to Olympos just a few hours ago. And it was obvious that they were very much in love.


	34. Unwanted Attention

**Unwanted Attention**

They say you go around the world for love, only to find it at home. That's exactly what happened to me. He was there, right under my nose all the time. Why didn't I see him before? Instead of running after gods like Chrysandros, Kandrios of Elesios, Susano of Nippon and Xenon of Thessalia-Ekarantanni. Not to mention getting crazy ideas about Achilles. Probably it was this unusual current of events that started it all.

Since the Giant wars the Argospantheon had been defunct, with Selene living with her daughter Pandia at Olympos. She refused to go back to Argos, it reminded her too much of her ex-husband Irolos and their five dead children. Tiaros (who had lost his twin brother Tirinon in the same war) was now living alone in the large palace, relying on Hera and Argus for help with caring for Argos. And he was dreaming of restarting his pantheon again, and for this (naturally) he was going to need a wife.

Tiaros had never been shy, and he was very obvious about wanting a daughter of Zeus. Naturally he started with us Olympians. And since Artemis had married Orion, Cleopatra was going steady with Ra and Astraea was still considered the girlfriend of Aietes (even if they weren't that tight these days) there were only a handful of us left. Eleithya, Hebe, Ersa and Pandia. And me.

I became the first receiver of Tiaros' courting, and I didn't know if I was flattered or embarrassed. On one hand Tiar was charming and intelligent, although not that handsome; on the other hand it was so obvious that he'd taken any of us who had said yes. So I turned him down and he went ahead with Hebe, who soon did the same, since Tiar didn't get along with her son Alexiares. Two names crossed off the list, who was to be the next?

- You're what? Aphrodite was staring at her husband like he had suddenly sprouted antennas.  
- I'm divorcing you, dear Aphrie. It's over, this so called marriage of ours.  
- You're... you're... I mean, you can't do that!  
- Of course I can. I've already filled out the form and handed it in to the Mayor's office.

I stopped, leaned over the railing of the gallery, looking down at my brother and his wife standing in the otherwise empty lounge. Ares, Astraea and Hermes had also stopped. Aphrodite's upset voice had caught their attention too.  
- You can't divorce me! No-one divorces me! Aphrodite screamed. I'm a love goddess! I'm nothing someone just dumps!  
- Oh, come on, it's not like you haven't dumped me over and over again, Hephaistos answered. Our marriage has been de facto over since centuries. You have let me come to you now and then all right, but I want more from a wife. I want a life comrade. A kindred spirit. And I've finally met her.

- What! Aphrodite was screaming with such a high-pitched voice it was strange that the large windows didn't crack.  
- Charis. You know her.  
- That Thanigran engineer goddess? You mean you prefer that homely old bookworm to me?  
- Well, I'm homely too, and Charis and I have a lot in common. We can talk for hours. But what have you and I been talking about lately? And by lately I mean the last century. It's over, Aphrodite, face that. You're still the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes upon, but that's not enough. Why do you think Zeus and Hera have stayed together no matter what their marriage has been through? Because they share common interests, can work together and talk about everything.

- Curse you, your ugly Titan! Curse you to beyond the beyond! Aphrodite turned on her heel and started to walk out of the lounge. Hephaistos stood still, and wasn't there a smug look on his face when he called after her:  
- Well, go have Ares, Aphrodite!

- Like I'd want that slut, Ares was saying next to me and Hermes was chuckling. I mean she's good to womp, but I would certainly not marry her. Astraea let up her minority opinion:  
- Poor Aphrie. Heph can't have been the funniest one to be married to, the way he prefers his treasured projects all the time.  
- Well I guess Charis fits him better, I speculated. She's of the same kind. Another tech-head.  
- And if I know Aphrie right, Hermes said, she's soon in someone else's arms.

Hermes was right of course. Aphrodite didn't wait long. Already next eve she was sitting in the lap of Aietes, playing with his long, dark-blond curls. And Aietes looked content enough. He was probably using Aphrodite to get back at Astraea anyway. The Olympic soap-opera was rolling on. And it went rolling with me. And Tiaros. The Argosite didn't want to leave my side. I had been certain that we Olympian girls were all interchangeable in his eyes - and perhaps that had been the case from the start. But it soon became obvious that I was on top of his want list. He was there all the time with flowers and gifts and poems and sweet little words and all these things men think women like.

But I have never been attracted by these kinds of things. I had been attracted by... to be honest I didn't know. The men I had fallen for throughout my life had been very different. There had been the sexy and power-hungry fighter Aganthanon, the listener and buddy Nardalon, the brother-in-arm and intelligent challenger Chrysandros, the romantic and dramatic Kandrios, the physical Susano and the funny, sweet and kind Xenon. Plus some minor stories that had been more about sex than affection. I still didn't know why I had fallen for these men. And why Tiaros was so completely uninteresting.

- It's pheromones, Eos said.  
- What? I asked.  
- Pheromones. The way men smell. We're not aware of that on a conscious level, because humans are so lousy at smelling things compared to other animals. But we're attracted to or repelled by men because of their smell. That's the newest theory at least.  
-Then you like the flagrance of them all, Artemis teased.  
- And poor Phaeton must be a real stinker, the way he always gets dumped, Eleithya smiled.

We were gathering at Artemis' place for a change, Hestia was redecorating her house, and Orion was over at Ares' for some business talk. Mimi has no fire-place, but she has cosy chairs, pleasant music and an abundance of snacks from all corners of the word, courtesy of Orion who has exotic food as an interest.

- But still, I said, it doesn't make sense, because there would be men all woman would like to have and a lot of real losers wanted by no-one.  
- What do you call the case with dad then? said Astraea. He gets them all!  
- That's his stubborn libido, not some flagrance thing, Iris stated. No offence, Hera.  
- None taken. I know my husband all to well.  
- So I don't like the smell of Tiaros, is that what you're trying to tell me, Eos? I asked the redheaded goddess.  
- Yeah, to put it simple, it is.

- But men? Hebe enquired. Are they attracted by smells too?  
- No, big oranges, Leto stated and looked almost sadly down at her rather flat front zone. Hebe and Ersa started to giggle, but Eos claimed that Leto was actually right.  
- Men go for the visual thing much more than women do. And "big oranges" has to do with an old caveman heritage. A woman with "big oranges" had more to feed her children with - and thus likelier to raise strong and healthy offspring.

That explanation made Eleithya lean over to the fruit-plate, grab two oranges and put them inside her top, holding them in place with her belt before jumping up at her armchair, wave her arms and shout:  
- Move over, Aphrodite, here I come! She looked so funny that it was impossible to not join in with Hebe and Ersa. The next moment one of the oranges came loose, fell down on the floor and rolled in beneath Leto's coach. Now all of us were crying with laughter. Hera started saying something about bananas, but she was laughing so much that it was possible to make out. We all got what she was hinting at though and laughed even more.

It had been a funny evening, but I wasn't the slightest wiser when I went to bed that night. I was looking at the patterns the moonlight made shining through the curtains and wondered if I was ever going to find someone "smelling my way". Then I wondered if that was what I really wanted to do. Or if I wanted it just because it was expected of me. I thought about Leto and Hestia who did fine without men in their life and restless Eos who always thought someone better was waiting around the corner.

Hera had accepted dads flaws and Mimi seemed - well not happy, but content with Orion. And poor Demeter, it was more than 150 years since Oreynadan died, and she was still mourning him. Poseidon and Amphitrite had recently breathed new life in their marriage, giving it a second chance. Then Hephaistos and Aphrodite were obviously history. The happiest couples were in fact Eros and Psyche and Irdonan and Sakura. The former were still "honeymooning" and the latter seemed to be the perfect match, always caring for and attentive to each other. Visiting Irdo and Kuri and their little family was always a relieve for the soul, especially after the turbulent Olympos.

Then there were Iris and Zephyros and Alatheia and Arxaron. Both these couples seemed more like buddies than actual lovers. Iris and Zephyros for instance had a "free relation", meaning that they accepted that the other one had little adventures on the wild side now and then. Convenient, but not what I wanted, that much was for sure. Finally Auroanos and Brismene, but they were so newlywed that they hardly counted. It takes at least a decade before you are able to judge the durability of any marriage.

The moment I began drifting off to sleep I was quickly hurled back into being awake again by a shift in the aura surrounding my home followed by pulling sounds at my door. Then I heard laughter:  
- Dini, Dini, that's not our house, ours next one, that's Athi's.  
- Oh chaos, they look exactly the same in the moonlight, I hear Dionysos slur. Ariadne giggled and repeated her information.

Then I heard more laughter and footsteps on my pebbled path followed by a big splash, and my little brother's voice:  
- Ari, you're drunk.  
- Speak for yourself old boozer; help me out of here instead, will ya!  
- Can't you levitate…?  
- Of course I can't, I'm drunk, remember. Help me!

More laughter was heard and drunk chatter and then the next splash. Now Dionysos had fallen into the canal too. I turned around and tried to find sleep again. Dionysos and Ariadne, always drunk, always noisy when they come home in the night. And they too loved each other…

With these thoughts I fell asleep and dreamed about Chrysandros. I dreamt that we were back together again, and swimming in the pool in my Athenian home. And Chrys went diving and when he came up his hair had turned from blue-black to blond.

O*o*o*o*o*o*O

- Do you know what your problem is, Athena? Tiaros said, looking down at me.  
- No?  
- You can't let go. You can't let go of that need to control everything in your life. But life isn't like one of those desk computers of yours. Life is about feelings. About passion and anger, joy and sadness. Feelings sometimes out of control. You have to let go. To let your hair down and dare to feel. And stop pretending that you're always going to fail in love. Or you're never going to be...

- Thanks, Tiar, but I am perfectly fine with not feeling anything like that at the moment. I am busy with the next Theogenesis batch and that craves a lot of the emotional department. Then I have promised Hephaistos to...  
- Stop hiding behind your work all the time, Athena. And behind that ugly brother of yours.  
- Watch your mouth talking about Heph! I'm warning you, I don't tolerate people putting him down!  
- Well, Aphrodite dumped him and...

- So why don't you go try your luck with Aphrodite, Tiaros? She'll give you what you want even before you utter the words and I'd be off the hook.  
- Athena, Athena, everyone can have Aphrodite. That's no challenge. If I'd wanted her... In fact I've already had her once, some 200 years ago if not more. But it's you that matters here. Athena, we could...  
- Will you stop doing that? I backed off fast when Tiaros took my cheek in his hand. He reached for me again, but I warded off his arm.

Then everything went foul. I saw rage coming up in the Argosite's eyes as he came towards me, and I jumped to the side, tried to say something reasonable. But he got hold of my dress and when I moved away from his next attempt at catching me it was torn apart.  
- Tiaros, what the Chaos is wrong with you? I shouted. He looked really strange.  
- It's you that is wrong, Tiaros said and then he grabbed my arms with both hands, hard, unyielding.  
- What?  
- I refuse to be turned down by you, your little uptight and frigid virgin.

I broke free, and scared by the madness in his eyes I lashed out with a leg, kicking him in the guts. He was unshielded and caught by surprise and fell groaning to the ground. I turned, started to leave, but he rose fast and gripped me from behind, tearing at my clothes. The next moment someone pulled him off me.  
- Now you stop this, rat! Or I'll have you banned from Olympos!

Helios! Brutally he threw Tiaros aside and hit him somewhere behind the neck so the Argosite lost consciousness.  
- Athi, did he hurt you? Helios was holding my hands, uncertain if he dared to hug me or not.  
- No, I could have had him off me, but... What went wrong with him?  
- He just... lost it, I guess.  
- Please, Helios, don't tell anybody! I begged.  
- I promise, my friend said. At that moment I reached for him and he held me. I had wanted to cry but my eyes were dry and I was shaking, mumbling curses that probably didn't make sense.

O*o*o*o*o*o*O

Came Summermonth dad and Freya's son Angandar and his wife Harmonia returned to Olympos with their daughter Siora. While Angandar and Harmonia moved in to Alatheia's old house (Cleopatra lived in what had once been Angandar's these days) Siora started to run after downtown YUGI's. She was no doubt taking after her grandma Aphrodite in that matter.

Angandar and Harmonia had a lot to tell about America (where their two oldest sons still lived). They weren't that found of the native immortals and they had wanted to return to "the civilisation" a long time.  
- Thing is that there are so few gods over there. Almost everyone from the Central Continent return sooner or later and almost all of the native gods were killed by the Giants. Only some on the southern subcontinent remain. What we had hoped for was to be able to enlist some Union gods longing for adventure to move there.

- Perhaps you're going to get lucky, Angandar, dad said, but we suffered from the Giants too. There are still far from enough gods around to handle Union matters. My great granddaughter Hygeia became number 643 when she was born the day before yesterday.  
- Congratulations, Angandar said. Who of my sisters or brothers is the happy grandparent?  
- Apollon. Hygeia is his son Asclepios' first child. Problem is that all of us deities are, with a few exceptions, too busy to have children. And if we don't have children we're never going to be less busy. A sure catch 22.

I felt someone staring at me at that moment. I turned. Tiaros. Apparently he was still around, in spite of Helios' more or less polite hints that he should leave Olympos. I made a face and turned to Ersa and Astraea sitting beside of me in the sofa.  
- You know what they say about old guests and old fish? I asked my sisters.  
- I know what you mean, Astraea said. Who invited him anyway?

- Selene. He's staying with her.  
- Could've bet! Anyway, remember last year, when dad kicked out Ate? Perhaps Tiaros'll go the same way.  
- No, Hermes said and sat down in front of us with a cup of nectar. Ate messed up big time, picked fights and was back talking both Hercules and Pandia and I don't know what. Tiaros have behaved, so far.  
- But he gives me the creeps, Ersa said. There's something with his looks.

I didn't comment on that, I only felt miserable as I watched Tiaros talking to Astraios and looking my way. Astraios had tried to have me once, but respected me when I turned him down. I hoped he could talk Tiaros into doing the same, but at the same time I doubted it. Then I turned the other way – only to find Helios quickly avoiding my eyes. What was…? And why did it trigger the strangest sensation in my belly? It couldn't be Helios really? After all he wasn't exactly a new acquaintance in my life.


	35. He with Capital H

_Even though Athena was most of he time considered a virgin goddess who never got to know love, there are obscure stories at Rhodes for instance telling about Athena and Helios the sun god having chidlren together. I decided to use those stories as basis for this final chapter. _

**He with ****capital H**

It was named The Pride of Athena, the very first successful satellite. It was as much Hephaistos', Aietes' and Caeros' deed that we finally had broken the bounds of Earth and taken mankind's first staggering step out in space. But they had wanted the lady of the gang to be the first one to name a satellite. I promised them in return that they would have namesakes circling the Earth too.

While the satellite travelled around Earth as a second little iron moon, people were starting to nourish feverish dreams about space. There were half-crazy mortals everywhere designing rockets that could take instruments, animals and even people to the celestial bodies. I don't know how many "Lunar programmes" that were initiated in the Academies around the Union. And in Atlantis there were even people dreaming of going to Venda and Maerda.

- I've got bag loads of requests for this kind of funding since you launched that satellite of yours, Athi, Auroanos said and raised his glass at me. People want to visit the steaming hot jungles of Venda and the wondrous old ruins of Maerda. Like we don't have enough mysterious left here on Earth.  
- I know, I told my brother. But after launching the satellite people have seen that it's actually possible to break the bounds of gravity. Now they are dreaming of going where no man has ever gone before. And I must admit that I'm also intrigued by the Moon. Not to mention Venda and Maerda. Ever since I was a little girl and learned that there are ruins of a lost civilisation on the red planet I have wanted to go there. To see if it's possible to learn what happened to these people.

- You're so romantic, Athi, Apollon said.  
- It's not only romance, his twin answered him. Perhaps we can learn from the Maerdans' mistake. Perhaps they did something that killed their civilisation. Something that we shouldn't repeat.  
- Most probably a war, Ares said. With devastating weapons. Nukes perhaps.

- I wonder, Eros said, if it could be possible for us to go there. And I don't mean mortals with rockets but gods flying out in space and to Maerda.  
- We can levitate up there, that's true, his father answered him. But the vacuum out there would kill us.  
- Even if we shield? Eros asked.  
- Yes, I think so, Ares said.  
- Or maybe not, Apollon said. Using an Aegis might protect us.  
- But what about the oxygen? Artemis asked. She still remembered how scary it had been to lose breath on the mountain slope outside Gaia's lair.  
- A bubble-Aegis could contain oxygen for such a trip, Apollon speculated.

We went on like that, discussing how far away from Earth the other planets were, how much time it would take to get there and how much oxygen you had to take with you if you went. Big bubbles of dreams perhaps, but it's always dreams that start off real developments. Such things as aeroplanes, television, desk computers, mind recorders and the likes - all which had started out as dreams. I should really be the last one to diss dreams as a vessel for progress.

o-o-o-o-o-o

- They say that one can see your satellite if knowing where to look, someone was suddenly saying behind me. I had been so preoccupied with the stars that I hadn't heard or felt him arrive. Helios sat down on the marble railing beside me.  
- Do you think that's possible?  
- I don't know, I answered my friend. Anyway, it's on the other side of the planet at the moment, so if someone is watching from the plains of Lemuria they might spot it.

Helios started to say something but changed his mind. But I saw his thoughts, he saw himself holding me. The next moment he knew that I had caught that glimpse.  
- I'm sorry, Athi, he said. You're probably going to say "Don't even think about it" now, and then be off in a whiff.

I turned to look at the tall, blond man nicked Sunshine Boy. He was standing there beneath the lanterns on the terrace and looked a bit lost and sad - and bemused at the same time. The wind was playing around with his short blond strands surrounding his head, making it look like a burning halo. I couldn't help asking:  
- What makes you so certain?  
- Ah, well, you're a hard nut to crack, Athena. Please don't be mad at me for asking, but have anyone ever managed to?  
- You mean like in...  
- Yes, I do.

- One. Once. I licked my lips, uncertain how to proceed, but then I simply told Helios about Chrysandros and how terrible it had felt to lose him.  
- Only too late did I understand that I loved that man. He had tired of waiting then and went ahead with Vali instead. A goddess he met in Athens, don't know if you're familiar with her. She educates little children. And I must say I respect Chrys' for going ahead with his life when his and my relation had gone stuck and was withering apart. Now I do so. But... Back then... I was devastated. It took me so long to get over him. And I did so many stupid things because I was moody. Like shooting Ares out on the planes outside Troy.

- I know. It became too late for me too.  
- With Hestia?  
- No. Long before that. Back in the war. The Titan war that is. Her name was Nearea. We were fighting together. Fighting and making love. But before I got the chance to tell her how much I loved her, how much she meant to me, she was killed.  
- I'm so sorry, Helios.  
- Not many know. Zeus, Poseidon, Lorelei. A few others around. I will not let it become too late again. Athena...

- You're not saying...?  
- Yes I am. Listen... Ever since... I don't know... We fought Typhon together and when he reached for you, almost piercing you with one of those dreadful, razor sharp claws...  
- The Aegis was protecting me.  
- Doesn't matter. It's all about feelings. Intellectual parts disconnected. Anyhow I suddenly understood that you weren't just Zeus's little charming daughter anymore, you were the woman I loved.

- And you have waited so long to say it. Why?  
- I am really... a shy boy. I'm not like your kins who flaunt all their feelings all the time, being it love, hate, joy or anger. I tend to keep mine to myself. Putting a lid on. I don't want to do that anymore. It has taken me 400 years to dare to show my feelings. Now I'm stiff-scared that you are going to walk away - or even worse, laugh in my face the way you did with Poseidon.  
- But I am not. I looked at the fair and athletic man in casual clothes. Helios, I am not. I might not be in love with you in that way, but I like you. You are honest and kind and bright. Loveable and charming. And easy to talk with. I don't want to do something that might hurt you. This might be a mistake, but... Come!

o-o-o-o-o-o

Tiaros had been right. I had needed to redefine myself - to stop seeing me as a looser in love and to receive what was out there. But Tiaros was not the one giving it to me. For the first time since Xenon I fell asleep in the arms of an immortal man. It felt... Not like perfection, but fulfilling. Warm, safe, cosy. Helios is like my old friend Nardalon in a way. And at the same time not. Helios is more like a natural force and less like an intellectual comrade. I could probably not talk about quantum physics, continental movements or computer programming with him, I reasoned. Perhaps philosophy. Helios showed me that night that he's more physical. He's more like Susano, but without the Nipponese's infamous mood swings and miss-directed pride. On the contrary, he's one of the steadiest men I know. We didn't tell anyone immediately though. Why rush it? People are good at finding out for themselves anyway. Especially since Helios and I hadn't usually been seen that much together earlier. Hephaistos was one of the first to notice.

- Guess it's your turn now, he said and smiled. After parting with Aphrodite he seemed happier. More proud and content. And Charis was a sweetheart. Not the most outgoing person in the world, she preferred to sit in her room and read or program her computer. But she was appreciating and loving Hephaistos in a way that Aphrodite never had. Next to notice were my sisters Astraea and Eileithya. Then it didn't take long until someone had told Tiaros. And he was at me like a furor:  
- So you didn't want to have me, but you can bed old uncle fist fighter?  
- Oh, come on! It just happened. And guess why!  
- Yeah?

- It happened because he was at the right place at the right time. So we decided to give it a try. I happen to like Helios because he doesn't take his own excellence for granted. He doesn't go around believing that he is some kind of gift to womanhood.  
- And I should be such a man, you mean?  
- Oh, come on! You know you act that way. It shouldn't come as a surprise that someone tells you that one day too. But then again you might find someone who like your style too. And in case you haven't noticed, I have my life here in the Central Area. You want to start a pantheon in the West. In Argos. So even if I would have fallen for you we could never have been together simply because you want to be _there_ and I want to be _here_. Get someone who'll come to Argos with you. Shouldn't be that hard. You got at least 100 available goddesses only in the Ekarantanni area.

- So I am not good enough, because I don't belong to the House of Olympos?  
- So that's another angle of yours? A really stupid one, honestly. You're tiring me!  
- I am tiring you? Now that was...  
- Do an Odysseus, Tiar!  
- What?  
- Get lost!

o-o-o-o-o-o

- My mother Euryphaessa gave me this, Helios said about the necklace. Said if I ever fell in love or had a daughter this one was for her.  
- It's lovely! Sapphires!  
- Like your eyes.  
- Perhaps she knew something, your mother. Did she have a foresight-gift?  
- None that I knew of. Then I guess she would have saved herself when the Titans came.  
- Or maybe she did like Rhea. Saved her children.  
- I've never thought about that before. You're probably right. Athena, that's why I love you so much. You make people see old things with new eyes. See beyond the obvious, find new things.

I met Helios' gray eyes in the mirror. He was still standing with his freckled hands on my shoulders, caressing me, the dim lamplight shining off his blond curls. He smiled, giving me some massage on the back of the neck, and I smiled back.  
- Whatever, right now I only have eyes for you, he went on.

By those words something was melting in my chest and pouring down through my inner body. Like a merge between melt iron and vertigo. I know it sounds weird, but I have no better way of explaining it. I couldn't believe this was happening. That I was feeling like this. Helios had been there my entire life and I had never felt anything like this before. He had just been a friend and a pantheon member. Dads old Warbrother who now spent most of his time working on official reports dealing with energy- and environmental-related developments. He who used to be... well just used to be around.

- And I see you... In a new way, I said. Interesting that you should put it like that, because I have never seen you like this before. With new eyes... you are so wonderful. Can I just ask you... How does it feel to love someone you have seen as a little child?  
- Great, Athena, just great.

o-o-o-o-o-o

I moved in with Helios on the east side of the major building. I mean, I took some of my clothes and books and had him make room for them and then we remade his bedroom to be more fitting for two. But I kept my house, turned my former bedroom into another workshop, one for computers and media. Where I had kept the computers before, I removed a wall to finally get a larger library. Stacked books on the floor became history. At least for a while.

- You have so much stuff, Athi! Persephone was standing in the doorway, looking at my antics with an amused smile.  
- Like you haven't?  
- No. I guess, while spending all this time 'tripping, you don't get that much things. At least not 3D.  
- So how's Hades these days? Still looking like a toy balloon?  
- No, that was just for show. He doesn't look like anything. He's just... He is. And he's fine. Or the equivalent to fine. He does his thing down under. Arranging his kingdom. Has created a place for the "good guys". Elysium. Where all the poor gods who died by the hands of the Giants dwells. And you know what? My dad's there. We've been talking so much, he almost remembers everything about his life in the world above now, after all the time I've spent with him. If only I could convince mum... But she just gets mad at me when I mention the land down under.

-What's it like, this Elysium?  
- It's almost like our own world, up here. Has a sun and grass, trees and flowers. An ocean with a beach. Food, wine and candies.  
- How did Hades get all these things down under? I asked and shelved some records that had been gathering dust in the bedroom for an eternity and a half.  
- Oh, it's just appearances. You know, he does control the quantum flow down under. I'm glad for you and Helios by the way. You both needed someone.

- And how about you, Peri?  
- Can't keep them when I'm seldom up. They tire. Even Adonis did. I guess... Until I find someone as willing as I to trip, I guess I have to be content with my "dead guys" as Aphrodite put it.  
- Oh, don't listen to her!  
- No I'm not. Not since Castor and Pollux started to trip with me. You know they are amazing. Really daring and skilled although they are so young. They're holding on tight to each other taking turns in tripping. And they're almost impossible to tell apart even in 6D.

The identical twins Castor and Pollux were Zeus's youngest sons, children of Leda, Mayor-Immortal of Mycenae. They were researchers of the spiritual world and since they had started to work with Persephone they lived part time at Olympos and part time at the Mycenaean university campus. They had been among the first ones to receive my Immortal Introduction Education, an adapted version of the Theogenesis education. Since I had started to offer it directly to the youths instead of their parents there were hardly any who objected. I hoped this would somehow make the YUGI problem history.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Hera put a finger to my still flat belly.  
- Helios? she asked. I felt my cheeks blush.  
- How did you know? About the pregnancy I mean?  
- Oh, I've seen enough pregnant women over the years to not miss that little shifting in the aura. Good timing by the way. Means my son will have a playmate. I'm glad you've given up these ideas about experimenting with mortal men and their seed.  
- Demigods, I said, but without emphasising it.  
- Call them whatever. Trying to catch an immortal drop out of Diomedes' or Achilles' seed sounds like a too risky project to me.

- But I never seemed to fall for any immortal men, and I didn't want to end up like Aphrodite. I could never stand seeing a child wither away from me the way Aeneas did. By the way, I still think it can work. Postpone the actual fertilising until after the act and then using deep-scanning to find an immortal sperm and telekinesis to have it fertilising the egg...  
- Athena, many women have tried, but no-one have actually succeeded. If you want to have a baby, do it the normal way, I suggest. Aphrodite failed and so did Freya and Galena. Not to mention poor Thetis. She failed seven times. After Achilles she gave up and married an immortal.  
- That's why I wanted so bad to have a child from Achilles. For her sake. To make her at least a grandmother.  
- Darling! Hera hugged me. It wasn't meant to happen, this immortal child of Achilles.

I felt tears burning in my life and the sight of Hera blur.  
- I aborted them, I confessed. I could not bear to give birth to a child and then to lose her or him.  
- How many times did you try?  
- Three. Then Achilles was killed. And Diomedes... Well he wasn't... It didn't catch. His seed couldn't get through to my egg. Now I know that it happens with mortal seed and immortal eggs most of the times anyway. I decided to have him just for fun instead.  
- That must have felt much better.  
- Indeed it did. And now I have Helios' child. This is failsafe. I don't have to think, just let nature do the job. Then the child will have a father as well as a mother. I guess that's the way it's supposed to be anyhow.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Eleithya became the second to notice that I was pregnant. She was giving me all kind of advices, everything from what to wear to "Avoid coffee". Like I was drinking that water of Styx anyway.  
- You have one daughter, Thya, and you behave like you're an expert on pregnancies and childbirths, I smiled. How come?  
- I've been around, my sister said. With mother, Aphrie, Eos, Sakura...  
- And you must hate it because you settled for one, Astraea guessed.  
- Perhaps. But Ea, don't knock it 'till you'd try it, Thya returned.  
- Haven't knocked it. Just haven't found a Helios yet.  
- Hands off, little sister, he's mine!

o-o-o-o-o-o

Artemis sat down next to me in the courtyard shadow and told me:  
- Since you got "planted" Orion's been pestering me about him giving me the same treatment. I don't know how to keep turning him down.  
- Why should you? Why don't you want children, Mimi?  
- Oh, they cry and puke and crap and take away your whole life. Look at Hera when...  
- But it's only for a couple of years! Then you get an interesting person who definitely will make those years worth it.  
- Hera told you that?  
- How'd you guess?  
- It's her words, only a bit shuffled around. Don't forget I've been the Chair Lady. I learned to trace the sources of lobbying ages ago.

- We have always been the independent ones you and I, Mimi! But I guess we're different at the same time. While I've always wanted children - since Thya was a baby at least - but without finding a dad until now, you have always wanted a life comrade who could be around but without taking your independence away.  
- Yeah, Orion gives me that. He don't care what I'm up to as long as he gets to share my bed most of the nights, some massage and an ear for his long ramblings about everything and nothing. He's safe and a bit simple. Caring but undemanding. The way I want them. But I guess now he's going to be on to Helios asking him how he did...  
- Used his "gadget".  
- ...and then I have to tell him that he's not the "father type" on top of everything. After all Orion is even clumsier and more ill at ease around babies than yours truly. And - to be honest, Athena, I'm scared of losing him.

- Don't let him blackmail you! None of you will be happy then.  
- So true! But what do I say to him?  
- What you told me. Plus, there'll be children to "borrow". Mine and Hera's. And we'll take them away when they start throwing up!

We started to laugh, my sister and I. Both of us could picture big Orion awkwardly holding a little screaming infant, wondering where the chaos you turned it off.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Then there was dad:  
- You and Helios, Starchild! I can't really say I'm surprised. Old Sunshine boy has always had a soft spot for you.  
- But he never... Like Poseidon did... you know.  
- Of course. He played it smarter. Waited for the right moment. Poseidon have always been too impatient for such a scheme. And I'm glad you waited along for him. He's strong and safe and he adores you and your creativity. He sees your special values much better than people like Chrysandros or Nardalon. I wish you two all luck.  
- Thanks, dad!

o-o-o-o-o-o

Helios and I went to Athens, and my neglected home down there. My beloved breathed new air in it, starting to redecorate, got rid of the dated interior decoration and installed a sauna and a pan-do ring. And Nike had some news for me. She was finally hooking up with Aganthanon for real. And:  
- Chrysandros wants you back.  
- What about Vali?  
- No idea. Seems like it didn't work after all. He didn't want to tell. But he said he wanted to see you. So I said that you were pregnant and Helios was the father.  
- And?  
- He was crying.  
- Oh...

I didn't know what else to say. I guess I should've talked to Chrysandros, but I couldn't think of anything to say. He was obviously too shy to contact me direct, having used Nike as a mediator.

Then we went visiting Irdonan and Sakura who lived just outside Athens these days. The latter was pregnant again, and was thrilled to know that her son was going to have a cousin the same age. And an uncle.  
- Doesn't happen that often in the immortal world, she stated.  
- You're right. And dad's worried because too few kids are being born.  
- Well, since he stopped playing around I guess that figure is down to half!

When Helios and I returned home we found that Tiaros had left. He had finally returned to Argos. With Aphrodite's granddaughter Siora. That was almost a reason for celebrating.

Nine months of pregnancy - when Helios and I agreed upon having a child it felt like forever - but thinking back, it was like it only took a couple of days and then I had little Alectrona in my arms. I've held so many newborn children over the years - sisters and brothers, nephews and nieces, a cousin. But - finally - this was my daughter. Mine and Helios'. A start of a new chapter in my life. My life as a mother. The same week I got yet another little brother, when Hera gave birth to Argandon.

Now I better stop writing this. Sounds like Alectrona and Argandon are up so some mischief again.

_This ends my story Athena - My Life as a Goddess. Stay tuned for my next installment **Rookie Goddess **wich is due within a few weeks._


End file.
